Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades
by Takara Phoenix
Summary: Poseidon knows about Gabe. He saves Percy from the abuse, but he can't raise Percy, knowing Amphitrite or Zeus would kill him. So he makes a deal with Hades. Hades hides Percy and Percy will one day become the consort to one of Hades' children. Percy grows up in the underworld and is send to camp to help Bianca and Nico in the Sea of Monsters. Nico/Percy slash mpreg Nicercy
1. Prologue: Two Promises

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Prologue: Two Promises_

1999 had an abnormally high number of storms and devastation caused by the sea, making many humans curse the weather. The reason for that was a simple one. Lord Poseidon, king and ruler over the sea and its storms, was seething. He had recently learned of his last lover's new marriage.

Apparently Sally Jackson had deemed it a good idea to marry a man named Gabriel Ugliano only a year ago. Normally, Poseidon didn't much care for the new love-life of his mortal lovers, just wishing them to find a happy ending of their own, keeping out of their business.

However, a couple of months after the wedding, Poseidon had been woken from his sleep by a merciless cry that had torn his dreams apart. The desperation of his only demigod son.

Following the call, he had ended up in a shabby, little apartment to find a disgusting man with a bottle of beer in one hand and a belt in the other, slurring insults at the merely six years old boy in front of him, who was already crying desperately. The little child, so cute and innocent, was curled together in himself, trying to hide from the pain and the insults.

Needless to say, the NYPD would be investigating a strange case of drowning on shore and inside a locked apartment the next day. A locked room mystery that would forever stay one.

Once the abusive man was taken care of, Poseidon's focus laid on the crying child. He leaned down, eyes filled with pain because of his son's pain, reaching out for the child slowly. He had the boy gathered in his arms all too soon, hugging him so tightly like he never wanted to let him go again.

"Sh, my boy, everything will be alright again, my little Perseus", cooed Poseidon softly.

He was clutching the little child like a life-line, trying to sooth the tears away. The young boy had already fallen asleep, but even in his sleep, he was still crying. Poseidon was furious. He knew demigod children were endangered in the mortal world, but he would have never thought that Sally would bring that danger into the house. What had she been thinking? That the disgusting stench of the bastard would cover Percy's smell so monster couldn't find him? Was that really worth it? Just so she could desperately cling to the boy and keep him close? No, Poseidon would not let his child be harmed and he would not let Percy stay one more day in this place. He couldn't risk Sally finding another ridiculous way of keeping Percy save from the mythological monsters. Not while there were other, very real monsters out in the mortal world too.

There was only one problem. Where else was Percy supposed to stay? Poseidon knew he could not bring his son down to the underwater palace near Atlantis. Out of various reasons. If Zeus were to learn about Poseidon breaking the oath of the three brothers, he would smite the boy right away, especially so if Percy was staying in the palace, because Zeus would get the impression that Poseidon was raising a powerful demigod heir. Not that Percy would live long enough to indulge in that wrath, because Poseidon's wife Amphitrite would most likely kill the boy at sight. She had never been too fond of Poseidon's affairs or children. Triton too posed a possible danger. Poseidon's heir was more than only jealous of demigods.

So Poseidon did the only possible thing he could think of.

"You know it's polite to give a little warning before barging into someone's palace."

Poseidon looked up – he practically had to tear his gaze off his son at this point, because Percy had finally fallen into a peaceful slumber and he looked like an angel, snuggled up to his father's chest like that, drooling a little. When Poseidon finally did look up, he stared into the expressionless face of his older brother. Hades was slumped in his throne made of bones, looking bored.

"I need your help, brother", whispered Poseidon softly and walked up to Hades.

"I gathered as much. You never just come over for tea", teased the lord of the dead and frowned, noticing the child in his brother's arms. "Who is that? An offering? Oh, but you didn't have to!"

"That's... my son, Perseus Jackson", introduced Poseidon, observing the shift in Hades' face. "I—I know we had an oath, but I just... Now it's too late. He is here and... I need your help."

"I am _not_ explaining that to Zeus", huffed Hades and shook his head.

"No! I don't want that either!", exclaimed Poseidon with panicked eyes. "I remember all too vividly how he had reacted to your last two children... even though they had been conceived before our oath. I come to you, because... I know that unlike our brother, you care for your off-springs. So do I. His mother was living with an abusive man and I can't let him stay there. But... I can't raise him myself either. We both know that Zeus never visits the underworld."

"You're asking us to raise your bastard", stated Hades, looking somewhere between amused and offended. "What would make you think that I would play part in this charade?"

"Because I know that when Zeus threatened to harm your children, you were willing to take them and their mother down here. I... don't know where they are now, but I'm certain you found a way to keep them safe, because you love your children. I _know_, even though no one else may believe that the heartless lord of the underworld would be capable of such a thing", continued Poseidon, his gaze firm. "I love Percy with all of my heart and I want to know him safe. I know he will be safe here, with you. I know you can protect him, I know as long as he stays down here, no one has to know that he even exists. I know... you will watch over him, like you watched over me once upon a time. I'm not asking this of you out of the goodness of your heart either. I'm aware that every favor has a price. I _know_ your two children, a boy and a girl, they're still alive somewhere and I know you keep them hidden until the Great Prophecy will unravel itself. We all know that this day has gradually come closer. You want the children of the underworld to be the heroes, the grand victors. The kind that earned themselves godhood, like mine and Zeus' children before. I promise Percy to one of your children, as an eternal consort. Percy is my son, the son of the sea. He can bless either of your children with heirs, once the time arrives. And as their consort, he will fight at their side. The union of the sea and the underworld, if that is not a safe bet for them to become heroes, I don't know what else could be. That is my offer. Do you accept or refuse?"

Poseidon spoke with a firm voice, but Hades could see the fear in his eyes. The fear that Hades would say no. The lord of the dead frowned and took the boy that was offered to him like a puppy. Chubby cheeks of a young child, rosy lips, the most messed-up, dark hair and... The boy woke up, slowly, blinking a couple of times and staring up at Hades curiously. With those eyes. Those eyes that clashed somewhere between green and blue, as though the colors were stuck in a fight, like the raging sea during a storm, filled to the brim with endless emotions and the wonder that only an innocent, little child could ever truly express.

In all his years, Hades had met a lot of heroes who resembled their godly parents to various degrees, but this boy was something else entirely. He was the splitting image of his father. The way the child looked up at Hades was the exact same way as Poseidon had looked at him all those many years ago, when Kronos had first swallowed Poseidon. Hades had been the first of the siblings to reach the little boy and he had cradled him to his chest in a quite similar way as he now found himself with Perseus. Back then, it had filled him with amazement and joy – after all, all he had known until then had been his three annoying, big sisters. He wasn't the youngest anymore and he wasn't the only boy anymore. Back then, he had promised himself to protect this little boy under all circumstances. And now, looking into those eyes, he found himself startled to realize that he was willing to do the same all over again. To once again raise a most likely stubborn, little brat and do everything in his powers to keep this child happy and safe.

"Yes", breathed Hades, barely a sound to the word, but for Poseidon, it was like a scream in the endless silence of his concerns. "I agree. I promise you, I'll keep your son safe and once he reaches the right age, he will become the consort to either Bianca or Nico. Whichever of them picks him."

Hades grunted at the sudden force of Poseidon's hug, but Poseidon really didn't care. He had known he could rely on his brother. After all, Hades had raised him to be the god he was now. Poseidon knew Hades had a soft spot for children, even though most may snort at the mere notion of that.

"Thank you, I... can't express how much", whispered Poseidon as he released Hades.

"Don't thank me yet", warned Hades with a frown. "Thank me when Zeus finds out about our children and I actually _manage_ to keep them from certain death."

Poseidon offered his older brother a bitter smile before turning to Percy and leaning down to kiss the boy's forehead. "I love you, my son. And I will always love you. I... won't be able to visit you, because it may raise suspicions, but... I know you will be safe here. I hope to see you again."

The boy had long since fallen back asleep again, nearly the instant he had looked at Hades, actually. Hades didn't know if he should be relieved that the boy wasn't threatened by his presence or offended. As he watched his brother leave, there was a nostalgic and nearly bittersweet feeling in the pit of Hades' stomach. It reminded him of the way he had left the Lotus Hotel all those years ago, knowing that what he did, he had to do to keep Bianca and Nico alive.

"I will raise you to be a proper and good boy", declared Hades, shifting the sleeping child some. "And one day, you will become the husband of Bianca. Or the wife of Nico. But let's not dwell on that yet, it will be some years until you meet my children."

"You know you could at least _ask_ me before you adopt a child", accused a voice from behind.

Persephone sauntered into the throne room, looking less than thrilled, but more than beautiful, as she always did. Flowers braided into her long, hazelnut brown hair, her silken dress green as the fresh grass on a spring's morning. Anger only made her look more beautiful. But only until she caught sight of the adorable, little boy nestled against her husband's chest. The moment she laid eyes on the child, her irritation melted awy. Well, at least it wasn't one of Hades' bastards. Stepping up to them, she combed her fingers through his messy but soft, dark hair. He was kind of cute, even adorable in the way he was leaning into her touch, like a young kitten that wanted a petting, looking all content as he was snuggled up to Hades. A child would make this gloomy place more lively.

"If you want, I can also feed him to Zerberus", offered Hades, both knowing he wouldn't do it.

"Oh, Zerberus will love to have a new playmate", grinned Persephone. "And what little boy wouldn't want a three-headed dog as a pet? This boy is going to have an extraordinaire childhood."

"I'm sure of that", nodded Hades in agreement. "So, if that means you are okay with him staying here, would you mind calling in a council meeting?"

"Oh yes! To introduce our little prince here to the others!", agreed Persephone delighted.

"Not the best of ideas. We shouldn't overwhelm the poor child on his first day down here", countered Hades, shifting the sleeping boy. "Wouldn't you agree, Perseus?"

"Perseus? You are too cute to be a Perseus, little one", whispered Persephone amused. "But yes, you're right. We should take it slow with the boy, introduce him to things one by one."

"I'll just put him to bed and then I'll join you in the Great Hall", whispered Hades, kissing his wife's cheek briefly and adjusting Perseus again. "Let's get you to bed and hope you're not as much of a little trouble-magnet and mischief-maker as your father was at your age."

Zeus was not the only god with a council. The underworld was as important a realm as Olympus itself and just like Zeus, Hades too was a king. And just like Zeus, Hades had a council of twelve gods to rule with him and tend to the dead. Now he would have to explain to his fellow underworld gods why a little child – a child of the sea nonetheless – would be living down here, with them.

But before Hades could take care of them or bother to find an explanation for any of this, he had a sleepy, little demigod to tend to. And he had to change his drool-soaked robes, because the feared lord of the underworld could not walk around with a drool-stain on his shoulder.


	2. Prince of the Underworld

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 1: Prince of the Underworld_

Hades frowned skeptically down at the sleeping child. He had taken Perseus to the empty chambers closest to his and Persephone's, anticipating that the boy would need a lot of care at the beginning. Now however, Hades found himself unsure how to proceed. He could hardly leave the child alone. If Percy was to wake up, he wasn't just in a completely foreign and strange place, no, there was also the chance of Percy running into a ghost or ghoul – and that could frighten the child for life, if he wasn't prepared for such an encounter first. However, he had a council meeting to attend.

"Brother. My beloved daughter just called me and told me you have a sudden case of parenthood. And that I was to keep it to myself. Needless to say, I had to see for myself", interrupted the slightly irritated voice of Demeter him, though the irritation was replaced with astonishment when she saw the sleeping child. "He's... Poseidon's. There is no denying that. But..."

"I made a promise to our brother, to keep this child safe. I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from telling Zeus and Hera about the little one", stated Hades in his most neutral voice.

The agricultural goddess placed a tender hand on Percy's cheek, the boy leaning into the soft touch. "Such a sweet, little angel. Of course not. Knowing our baby brother, he'll do something ridiculous and stupid. Throughout history, his and Poseidon's children have proven to be our strongest assets in any fight. The oath... I never fully agreed with it. It puts us into more danger than it does us good."

Hades nodded in silent agreement before a thought occurred to him. "Would you mind staying with him and watching over him? I have a council meeting with the other gods and I'd rather not have a ghoul babysit the little one. The child has been asleep ever since our brother brought him here and I can only anticipate his reaction upon waking up..."

"Oh, it's been a while since I took care of a babe like him", laughed Demeter, motherly fondness evident in her voice as she sat down on the bed next to the child. "What's his name, Hades?"

"Perseus Jackson", replied Hades before he turned around and left the chambers again.

/break\

The Council of the Underworld considered, just like the Olympic Council, of twelve gods.

The head of the council was the king himself – Hades. Together with his queen, Persephone.

The other ten members were sitting in a circle on the smaller thrones in the meeting hall.

Thanatos, god of non-violent deaths, was sitting at Hades' right. His right hand. The tall, dark-skinned god was frowning curiously at his king, intrigued what this may be about.

After Thanatos came Olethros, the other side of the coin. The god of violent deaths. He had something cruel in his eyes, a sneer on his sickly pale face as he looked at Hades interested.

Left to Olethros was Horkos, the god of oaths. Since all holy oaths referred to the underworld, it was only fit for the god of oaths to call the underworld his home. That aside, his Roman aspect Orcus was the god of punishment. He was a strict and solemn guy, always serious.

Morpheus next to him was playing with his nearly black blanket, deep in thoughts, as so often.

On Morpheus' other side was Hypnos, deep asleep as always. After all, he was the god of sleep.

The female round began from there on out, starting with Nemesis, the goddess of revenge.

She was followed by her sisters, first the goddess of magic, Hecate herself, and then the goddess of hatred. Styx, a river nymph but a goddess all the same. The three sisters were whispering to themselves, throwing glances at their king and queen while talking in hushed voices.

The last two members of their council were the daughters of Hades and Persephone – Melinoe, goddess of ghosts, and Makaria, a minor goddess of death. Both deadly and sadistic to a max.

"What are we all doing here?", asked Thanatos, his voice a soft and dark rumble.

"Before I can tell you that, I will need Horkos and Styx to take an oath from all of you", stated Hades, sitting tall and proud in his throne. "To never speak a word of what is being said in here to anyone outside of this circle. This secret must remain within the underworld forever."

The minor gods exchanged curious looks at that. This level of secrecy was rare for their king.

"You're not going to pull a Disney after all, are you?", asked Hecate with a frown. "Overthrowing your brother on Olympus and taking over the world. Because I'm not down with that just yet."

It didn't even earn her a smile from the king or at least an annoyed eye-roll. They knew he was being serious. So the god of oaths took an oath on the river Styx, with Styx herself present to validate it. This was the highest and most unbreakable form of oath possible.

"My nephew Perseus Jackson will be living in the palace from now on", stated Hades firmly. "He will be under my personal protection and thus, I also expect all of you to do your utmost to protect the boy from any harm. Or from being discovered. Zeus is not to know about his existence."

"You're taking in strays now, dad?", complained Makaria, wrinkling her eyebrows.

"Be nice. He's your new brother", chided Persephone seriously, making it clear that she supported Hades in this unorthodox decision. "The boy is merely a child who has done nothing wrong yet and still life has already left him scarred. Protecting him will give us a great alliance with Poseidon. Losing him will bring us the full wrath of Poseidon."

Understanding gleamed in the eyes of the other gods as they took in what was being said. Hades stood. He knew they needed to digest this. Never before had a demigod _lived_ in the underworld. Attempted to break in, yes. But actually been invited to live here? A son of Poseidon at that. They needed to discuss this in private and he was itching to get back to the sleeping child.

/break\

Hades cursed his childish eagerness, wondering where it had come from to begin with. The boy was out cold and even three hours later, Hades was still sitting next to a sleeping boy. Still, Hades wanted to be there when the boy opened his eyes again. If only for the chance to look into them once more. It was true that Perseus was the splitting image of Poseidon, but he was also so much more. Nowadays, when Hades would look into Poseidon's eyes, he saw thousands and thousands of years of pain, fighting and losing his demigod-children. But this boy, he had the same eyes as Poseidon once had. Still filled with innocence and childish curiosity. And mischief. Hades had seen a startling amount of mischief in those sea-green depths. He knew the boy was trouble.

"Mommy...?"

Hades would forever deny it, but he jumped like a little girl who had seen a ghost. The sudden, soft voice had actually _startled_ the scary god of the underworld. Frowning annoyed by that, he turned to the sleepy boy. The frown melted instantly. Percy was clumsily rubbing his eyes, looking around confused, his bed-hair even more of a mess than it had been before his sleep. He was adorable.

"Your... mother is not here, Perseus", started Hades, unsure how to have this conversation.

"Where's she?", asked Percy innocently, looking confused up at Hades. "Did Gabe sell me?"

"W—What?", stammered Hades, thrown off by that casual statement.

"He says if I'm no good, he will sell me away", frowned Percy, now rather upset.

"No, child", interrupted Hades hastily, not sure if he could deal with the child if the boy was to start crying now. "You haven't been sold, Perseus. What a horrible notion. Do you perhaps remember the man that was with you before you fell asleep? The dark-haired one with the beard."

"He smelt nice", nodded Percy slowly, sitting up. "Like the ocean. I like the ocean lots."

Hades made a mental note to see to it that Percy would get a tutor in English – age was no excuse for poor grammar, after all. "That was your father. He... saw that this Gabe treated you bad, so he took you away from there. To keep you safe. You'll be staying with me now."

"You lie", frowned Percy upset. "I don't have a dad. Gabe says I'm a bastard, that means I don't have a dad because my dad doesn't love me enough to want me."

Hades felt the ice-cold rage only a god of death could build up flaring inside his chest – itching to kill the man who put such vile things into this innocent child's head. Instead of clinging to this rage however, Hades took a deep breath and scooted closer, putting a hand on Percy's head.

"He lied to you, Perseus", whispered Hades, unusually tender. "Your father loves you more than anything. But... he can't keep you. That's why he left you with your mother, because he thought you'd be loved, protected and cared for. When he realized his mistake – that this horrible man did and said horrible things to you – he decided to take you away from there. He still... can't keep you, little one. That's why he brought you to me. I'm your father's brother. Your uncle. I promised your dad that I will keep you safe, little one. I promise _you_ that I will keep you safe."

Percy was still frowning, still looked distrusting. "But... mommy...?"

"Your mother is fine. This is the best for both of you", promised Hades, pulling the boy into a hug that surprised Hades even more than it surprised Percy. "We'll do everything to fix this, Perseus."

"It's Percy", whispered Percy, reluctantly leaning into the hug. "You smell funny. What's your name? Do I call you uncle? Can I still visit my mommy? Will my dad come back?"

"We'll see to all of that at a later date", said Hades cautiously. "For now, let's tend to you."

/break\

Hecate easily became Percy's new favorite aunt, because with her magic, she redecorated the chambers to the very wishes of the boy. Percy was sitting on his bed, together with who had introduced themselves as his new sisters – Melinoe and Makaria, both in the eternal appearance of teenaged girls and both of a certain pale beauty. The goddesses were sitting on either side of him, slowly growing fond of Percy as the boy awed and owed at every magic trick, his sea-green eyes sparkling and gleaming with so much excitement. It was adorable.

"Blue!", exclaimed Percy, clapping his hand. "Make it bluer!"

Which, basically, was the main-theme. By now everything was blue and the interior design had been fitted for a small child. Hecate smiled amused as she obeyed the boy's demand. She knew the boy would be dangerous one day, because she could see the way that bright-eyed little boy was already affecting the gods of the underworld and that after not even one day. Given the time, he would have them all wrapped around his little finger. A brilliant laughter rippled from the child's throat as Hecate animated the waves on the walls into moving.

/break\

"I don't wanna go to bed."

It had been a month now that Percy was living in the underworld and so far, it had been relatively easy. Between Demeter (who had practically moved in to get to cuddle the little boy), Persephone, Hecate, Makaria and Melinoe, Percy was being coddled and easily distracted from worrying about _where_ he was or why he didn't have to go to preschool anymore. Whenever the topic scratched his mother, the gods did everything to distract him again. Now however, Hades had reached a new barrier. Percy had nightmares. About his stepfather and what the man had done to him. Hades liked children, but aside from Melinoe and Makaria, he had never raised a child – and those two had been a couple thousand years ago too. He had no idea how to comfort a child.

"I know you have bad dreams, Perseus", whispered Hades, caressing Percy's hair. "So I asked two friends of mine to help you. Those are Hypnos and Morpheus, don't worry, they won't harm you."

Hypnos and Morpheus entered, albeit the god of dreams had to support the already half-asleep other god. Percy frowned and wanted to protest, but with a gentle touch from Hypnos, the boy was out like a candle. Hades wasn't sure if it was cheating or parenting, but he was the damn king of the underworld and he would not spend another council meeting accidentally falling asleep because his young charge had been sneaking into his and Persephone's bed for four days with nightmares. He was not above cheating. Morpheus smiled gently down at the child before he placed a special, dark-blue blanket over him, securing Percy's dreams to be sweet and good.

"This is a one-time deal, Hades", warned Morpheus. "If he loses the blanket, or if you decide to take in more stays, I won't help you again. I'm only doing this because when an innocent child has to endure nightmares like those, it... pains me."

"Sleep must be peaceful", yawned Hypnos in agreement.

Hades nodded and leaned down to place a last kiss on Percy's forehead.

/break\

Percy was frowning upset as he was laying upside-down on his bed, head hanging over the edge. Learning was boring, boring, boring. Uncle Horkos was always so serious and talking about boring stuff like books and things that happened _so_ long ago. And math. Percy wrinkled his nose. He disliked math. Not as much as English though. Greek was easy, but Horkos also made him read English and that made his head hurt. He didn't like it.

"Perseus, are you listening?", interrupted Horkos' voice the boy's thoughts.

Percy jumped slightly and stared at him startled. "Uhm... yes?"

Horkos arched one unimpressed eyebrow at that. The boy was a gentle and sweet soul, but a _horrible_ student. He knew why Hades had requested him to be Percy's private teacher. Not just because unlike most other gods in the underworld, Horkos didn't have so many active duties and thus more free time, but also because like his oaths, he took everything quite serious. By now, Percy had been with them for half a year and Horkos couldn't believe how many basic things the boy was lacking. He was struggling to read or even speak properly at times. Hades had taken the boy in to protect him, but under the aspect of Percy one day becoming the consort of Hades' heir, he also wanted the boy to be well educated and trained in various aspects.

Another aspect, one that Percy enjoyed far more, was being covered by Nemesis. The goddess of revenge taught Percy how to fight. From one-on-one to swords and, if she would have a say in the matter, also guns. Persephone had forbidden her from teaching him how to shoot a gun because he was only six. Nemesis would say that this was a ridiculous argument, but she obeyed her queen.

"When it comes to fighting, it's always a rivalry. Which is my realm", smiled Nemesis wickedly. "But it's not just about that. I'm the goddess of revenge, but _you_ can not let it get to that point. Because when you seek revenge, you already lost the previous fight. Never let your opponent tip the balance of the fight. Always keep it even, or if possible, tip it to your favor."

Percy nodded obediently, feeling the heavy weight of Riptide in his hands. Hades had given him the sword a month ago – a present from his dad, Hades had said. Percy accepted it happily. It was strange, after six months, he already felt like his life in New York, with his mother and stepfather, was no more than a faint memory, while this right now and right here was his _real_ life.

"You're getting better, little prince", praised Nemesis impressed as Percy dodged her.

He smiled brightly at that praise, brightening the whole area. It mesmerized Nemesis. She had valued the underworld for its darkness, but somehow the light Percy had brought into it was so different and refreshing that she couldn't help but love it.

And she wasn't the only one. Albeit the others may not have known it, but Styx was the one who valued Percy's presence the most probably. She and her sisters were the river nymphs of the underworld, separated from any other source of water. A river's yearning was to end into the ever-free ocean. To have the ocean's child here was literally reviving for the river nymph.

"This is fun, auntie Stick", whispered Percy in total awe.

He couldn't pronounce 'Styx' properly yet so he had taken to calling her Stick. She only let it slide because his level of adorableness was downright ridiculous. Unlike Nemesis and Horkos, she taught the boy the one thing that was truly valuable. At least for a son of Poseidon. To control his powers. Hades wanted the boy to be clever and schooled, to be able to fight and defend himself, but he also didn't want to neglect that the most important part of a demigod was his legacy. The river nymph was the best bet to train Percy in using his powers. The raw might of a child of Poseidon was overwhelming and Styx knew that with the right guidance, Percy could become the most powerful demigod she had ever encountered. And she had encountered many.

/break\

It was on Percy's seventh birthday that he realized it. He realized that he would never see his mother or New York again. All those months, he somehow had still believed that he'd get back, or that he'd wake up and all this craziness with the powers and gods and ghosts and monsters would turn out to be a dream. But when he woke up on the morning of his seventh birthday, without his mother waiting for him with a blue cupcake, he knew this was forever.

What startled him the most was that he didn't regret this. He loved his mother more than anything and he knew not one day would pass without him thinking of her, but he also loved his new family. None of them had made him cry even once, none of them had hurt him even once, regardless of if he didn't do his chores or mess up in classes or accidentally hit uncle Thanatos with an arrow while Nemesis tried to teach him how to shoot ('It's not a gun, so stop fussing, Persephone!'). He had cowered in fear of a punishment back then, but all Thanatos had done was pull him into a soothing hug and rock him until he stopped crying, assuring him that everything was alright.

Those people – regardless of how angry and heartless they may be acting in front of others – they were soft on the inside and they loved Percy. And Percy loved them. More than he could express.

So on the morning of his seventh birthday, Percy sneaked out of his bedroom, clutching his comfy blanket that he had gotten from uncle Morpheus tightly to his chest.

"Did you have another nightmare, Perseus?", yawned Hades, blinking a couple of times.

Percy frowned. Everyone had taken to calling him Percy, but Hades still insisted on Perseus. Persephone next to her husband stirred too when she noticed their little charge in front of their bed.

"Mommy used to give me birthday-cuddles", stated Percy, hugging the blanket tighter. "Can I... have birthday-cuddles, mamma 'Phone? Papà? Please?"

Hades was frozen in a stupor at that. Percy had mostly called him 'uncle Hades' until now. It had been ten months now and Hades would be lying if he'd say the boy hadn't taken a certain spot in his heart by now. While Hades' brain had completely shut down, Persephone lifted the blanket.

"Of course you can have birthday-cuddles, my little birthday-boy", said the Spring Goddess.

"Thank you", replied Percy politely and crawled into the bed.

The little rascal was far from polite, so Hades cocked one eyebrow at that. He had a hunch that this was more than just a simple 'Thank you for the cuddles'. It was a thank you for everything – for taking him in, feeding him, teaching him, loving him.

"You're welcome, Perseus. Happy birthday", said Hades lowly, laying one arm around the boy. "You know, aunt Demeter is making your favorite breakfast – blueberry pancakes. So I don't know if we'll have a lot of time for cuddles before Melinoe and Makaria devour everything on their own."

He wanted to tease the boy, because he knew that Percy's weakness was blue food, but Percy just hummed and snuggled up to him. "Is okay. They can have the pancakes if I can keep you."

Hades blinked stunned. Had this little demigod truly managed to steal the hearts of the underworld?

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: I'm normally not fond of updating that early after posting, but the reactions to the first part were pretty overwhelming - and feedback is what motivates to write, after all. So I wanted to see if the direction I take this is still as appreciated as the prologue. (And for those confused; Percy is using the Italian versions of mom and dad for Hades and Persephone since Hades is teaching him Italian - to connect with Bianca and Nico once they meet. But that'll be explained later on too)<br>_

_Next chapter will introduce the Moirai as Percy's teachers. Subjects: History, mythology and spinning threads of life. Percy takes home a stray when he goes with Olethros to collect the soul of Esperanza Valdez. How will the council react to the frightened, little Latino? (And yes, I have a good reason why the gods will allow that. Not just because Percy wants it)_


	3. Prince Percy's Pets

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 2: Prince Percy's Pets_

Percy was laying upside-down (his favorite position, really, because that way he saw things differently than others would) on a giant heap of black fur. The occasional tongue swept over his face as he was cuddling his pet-dog. Zerberus. Mamma Persephone had said that little boys liked to have dogs. Percy didn't know if that was right for other little boys, since he hadn't met another boy in nearly three years now, but he surely knew that he loved Zerberus a lot.

Three years. It was strange, because that didn't sound like a large number at all, more like the opposite – and to his family, it surely only was a short time, considering the long lives of the gods – but it already felt like forever to Percy. The hooting of a beautiful, black barn owl interrupted him.

"Hey, Ace", greeted Percy with a grin, extending his arm so the owl could land.

He was always wearing a black leather gear on his right arm. Protection as much as for Ace to comfortably land without harming the boy. Percy reached out with his left hand and petted the owl's head. A letter was stuck to Ace's foot and Percy cautiously took it off. Percy had all four of the _Harry Potter_ books and had devoured them various times by now, eagerly awaiting the fifth book (papà had promised that even if the author died before finishing the series, he'd summon the ghost to tell Percy the end, which was a very pleasing promise, considering that it had already been unreasonably long since the last book). Percy loved the idea of this school, a place where other special people were. He wished such a thing would exist for him. He also loved the idea of owls as means of communication. And while the gods had acted awkwardly around his first statement, they had been more than eager to fulfill the second wish. Percy guessed it was because they could hardly build a school just like that. Instead, they had given him Ascalaphus, or Ace as Percy preferred to call him. Apparently, he used to be a gardener in the underworld, but then auntie Demeter had turned him into an owl. Percy didn't question it. He had stopped questioning such things long ago.

"Ah, I spend too much time daydreaming again, it's no good", sighed Percy bothered and put the short letter away. "Of course the trio had to rattle me out to mamma. Come, Zerby, let's go."

The trio were some of Percy's teachers. Percy had a lot of teachers by now. Horkos had taught him basics, but now that he was older and had a more varying schedule, the god of oaths often consulted ghosts to teach Percy. English classes with Shakespeare had hurt Percy's head a lot in the past. Nemesis, and the occasional dead hero like Theseus or the first Perseus, taught Percy how to fight and win in battles. Styx was still teaching him control over water, even though Percy had a pretty good grip on that and he didn't particularly like her methods. Then again, she was the goddess of hatred so the 'strong emotion' that a demigod with powers like his needed to channel to truly control his element, to her it was hatred. Percy rather focused on love. Hecate had started to teach Percy how to manipulate the Mist about a year ago – this had made him more than antsy. Because down in the underworld, there was no need for this. There was only his family and the gods of the underworld where the hardest to fool with Mist. It meant they actually expected him to one day get back to the surface. And then last year, Charon had started giving Percy driving lessons with chariots and boats, which was just plain _awesome_. Charon disagreed.

And then there was the trio. The Moirai. Atropos, Klotho and Lakhesis taught him about humans. Percy smiled wryly at that. What human child got lessons about human behavior, he wondered. The one who was being raised with the dead and by the gods, apparently. They gave him history lessons too. Human history and godly history. He knew a ton of stories about the gods, demigods and monsters. Not all, because there were just too many, but the truly important ones. Papá liked to say that knowing how to use a sword wasn't worth much if he didn't also know how to use his opponent. Knowing the enemy's weaknesses and strengths could decide a fight even more crucially than knowing how to use a sword. So Percy made sure to remember everything that seemed important, even though at times it was hard for him to concentrate because of his ADHD. Like now, where he had completely spaced out in the middle of playing with Zerberus and forgotten about his classes with the Moirai, who had kindly rattled him out to his mamma. Those traitors.

"You're late", stated Lakhasis, throwing her measuring tape at his head.

They taught him more than just history though. Not that Hades or Persephone knew about that, they had only assigned that task to the trio. But with the sessions of watching them spin and do their work while talking to Percy about the fate of humankind in the past and such, Percy had grown increasingly sensitive to what they did. Lakhesis had caught up with this first and, just like she measured the life-span of a person, she also measured Percy's potential. Percy by no means had the powers or even options a child of Hades would have, but with how many threads of life he had already seen, he had grown sensitive to the little differences, asking for instance why some glowed in a different light than others. Somehow, living in the underworld and watching the Moirai had given Percy an insight into reading the aura of a soul. So Klotho had started to teach him how to spin, not himself, but how a soul was woven, why the aura or a thread glowed in different lights. Today would be one of those days, he guessed. That and titans. It was really their favorite topic, somehow. The titans' relations to the gods, their enemies and allies, their weaknesses, strengths and powers. But Percy didn't mind, he found it highly interesting to listen to the tales of heroism of his dad and his papà. Smiling a little, he sat down next to Klotho to watch her spinning, hand her wool. He had nimble fingers, as she liked to say. A good sense for what to put into a person's life.

"Ah, the brat. What's the brat doing here? I told you not to call me when the brat's here."

Okay, so maybe Percy didn't get along with _every_ god down here. Olethros didn't like him too much and he also edged on with Styx at times – she claimed it was because she represented hatred and yet there was not a spark of hatred inside Percy, which she found unsettling. And Olethros was just an old grump. Offering the bewinged god a toothy smile to piss him off, Percy waved some.

"Hey, uncle Ollie, how are you?", asked Percy cheerfully, knowing the god hated the nickname.

"I swear, if Hades wouldn't value you so much...", muttered Olethros under his breath, glaring.

"Percy, be a deary and hand me my scissors", requested Atropos.

Percy frowned, an unsettled look on his face. He disliked this, because it meant someone was going to die. Lakhesis was holding the thread and Percy stared at it in awe. It was beautiful. Golden. Golden threads meant pure souls. Good people. Percy didn't like when good people died. Especially not when uncle Ollie came, because Olethros was the god of violent death. Which mainly meant murder or something like that. Percy didn't like that either. There was a lot about the underworld's daily business that he didn't like, if he was being honest with himself. But... this time, there was also something else. Just before Atropos could cut the thread, Percy grabbed for it.

"Wait", requested Percy softly, fingers tracing along the thread. "What about this one...?"

Another thread was wrapped around the one that was supposed to be cut. Of course Percy knew what that meant. Family, friends, lovers. Someone very close to the person who was supposed to die. Most threads had that, were woven into a greater picture, but something about this other thread picked Percy's interest. Hissing, he pulled his fingers back. It was as though the thread was on fire. It was glowing golden, a very pure gold, but also a bit red like flames.

"Ah, poor little one", hummed Klotho, playing with the loose end of the thread, the life that was yet to be spun. "An orphan, poor child. Many hardships yet to come. So much misery..."

While Olethros was loudly tapping his foot to show his displeasure at being forced to wait, Percy took all the time in the world to take the loose end from Klotho. She wouldn't be playing with it if she hadn't wanted him to notice. He had watched how enough life-threads had been spun by now to read the wool that was going into this thread. Abuse, distrust, loneliness, pain, isolation. But the length of the thread – the boy was only seven years old! Two years younger than Percy.

"Please take me with you, Olethros", stated Percy firmly and straightened.

A small, unnoticed smile was on Klotho's lips as she started to readjust the wool woven into this thread and, without Percy seeing it, took a blue and silver glowing thread to rest against the red one. Percy was too busy having a stare-down with Olethros to see what was happening.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're not allowed out", snorted Olethros, flapping his large, gray wings in annoyance. "Hades would _kill_ me if something happened to you, brat."

"I'll stay out of your way for a whole year if you take me with you", promised Percy and bowed some, respectfully and devotedly. "Please. I want to see what kind of person that is."

It disturbed Olethros immensely whenever the brat was well-behaved. But the prospect of not having to put up with the mischievous pre-teen was nice. Last time the royal trio – Melinoe, Makaria and Percy – had pulled a prank on Judge Minos, Olethros had been left to take care of the remains. Not having anything to do with Percy for a year seemed like a good deal, especially considering that this was an in-out-thing. Going to the world of the living, collecting the soul, leaving again. There was hardly anything that could go wrong.

"Off to Houston then", muttered Olethros unenthusiastically.

/break\

As so often before, Olethros was proven wrong. While the god collected the soul of Esperanza Valdez, Percy was kneeling in a corner, in front of a crying, little Latino imp. Percy was completely mesmerized by the child. A child. Another child. A human boy, just like him. Well, not exactly since this one had curly hair and caramel skin and pointy ears.

"Hello, why are you crying?", asked Percy concerned and started to pet the boy's hair.

He knew that papà always did that when Percy was crying, so hopefully it would help. "Mommy is dead and it's my f—fault... I ruin everything... W—Who a—are you...?"

Percy frowned confused and looked around. There was a fire alright, but he didn't peck the little boy as a pyromaniac who just played with matches or something like that. He continued the petting.

"I'm Percy", whispered Percy softly, offering the boy a smile. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

As though in answer, there was suddenly a ring of fire surrounding the boy, causing Percy to stumble backward and out of the way. "I—I... break everything... I'm dangerous... Stay away..."

Fire. Percy's eyes sparkled with a completely new interest, something so intense that it actually scared Olethros for a second. This new turn was the only reason why the god didn't just pull the brat aside and leave again. Something was happening here and he wanted to see the outcome.

"Fire doesn't scare me", stated Percy and reached his hand out to continue petting the boy's hair.

"N—No!", exclaimed the younger boy panicked, but then he froze because Percy didn't catch fire. "W—Why... aren't you... getting hurt? What are you...? T—The... fire should... it should..."

"You control fire, but I control water", replied Percy simply, showing Leo that there was a thin layer of water covering Percy's arm and keeping him from getting burned. "Fire doesn't hurt me."

With a simple flick of his other wrist, he made the nearby pipes burst and effectively extinguished the fire in the workshop. It was such a simple gesture, done without even having to think about it. It was unsettling for Olethros, because he understood what it meant. Controlling larger amounts of water without even putting a thought into it. Back when the boy had started his training with Styx, he could hardly change the currents. Three years of hard training later and he did what would be a tremendous task for other children of Poseidon his age without any exhaustion.

"I—If my fire can't hurt you... a—are you my guardian angel?", asked the little Latino shyly.

Percy tilted his head thoughtful for a second and then he nodded. "Yes. Yes, I am. The gods send me to protect you, now that your mother can't do it anymore. Will you tell me your name now?"

"L—Leo Valdez...", whispered the child, staring at Percy with his large, dark eyes.

Percy was something ethereal, not from this world. Leo had never seen anything like this boy. He was nearly ghostly white, but not like when someone was sick, more like the foam of a wave when it was vanishing back into the ocean. Glowing, really. His eyes sparkled like two gems, green and blue at the same time, his chin-long, raven-black hair was a stark contrast to his skin. He was only an inch taller than Leo, even though he was obviously older than Leo. He was lanky and thin, but not in an unhealthy way, because he also was muscular, even though not much. He was surely beautiful enough to be a guardian angel, that much Leo knew.

/break\

"You already have Ascalaphus and Zerberus, you're not getting another pet, Perseus."

Percy frowned upset, arms crossed over his chest as he stared up at his papà. His blue toga rustled a little as he shifted his posture. Olethros had brought him and Leo back to the underworld and to say that Hades had been pissed would be the understatement of the century. Not only had Percy left the underworld, no, he had also brought another mortal down here. This wasn't an orphanage!

"I don't want to keep him as my _pet_, he's human!", exclaimed Percy annoyed.

"Yes. We're going to have a long conversation about that one, too", muttered Hades before straightening and raising his voice some. "Humans, regardless of if they're mortals or demigods, have no business down here. Not only did you disobey my orders to stay in the underworld, you also disrespect me by sneaking a human in like that, Perseus. And you, _Olethros_, are in even more trouble. You know his stay here is a secret, bringing him up there was an unnecessary risk."

Olethros flinched visibly, which made Percy wonder what kind of punishments there were for gods. Then he tried to forget about it, because he feared it would scare him for life. Instead, he concentrated on the cowering Latino behind him. Unfolding his arms, he reached out and grabbed one of Leo's hands in silent support. He knew that Hades and Persephone on their giant thrones could be intimidating, especially for someone who had never been to the underworld before. Even more so considering that the whole Underworld Council was lined up on either side of them, all angry at Olethros for taking Percy away, all having spend an hour looking everywhere for the boy.

"I do mean no disrespect, Lord Hades", whispered Percy softly and took a deep breath.

He turned back to the gods and the atmosphere shifted gradually. Before, this had been an argument between an angry father and a child who was throwing a temper tantrum, but all of a sudden, there was an unexpected calmness surrounding Percy, his aura cold and even. He bowed deeply.

"I apologize for worrying you all and for causing trouble like this, but... don't get me wrong. I did not mean to disrespect any of you with my decision", continued Percy and looked up again. "When I held the thread of his life, I... _knew_ that he is important. More than any thread I had ever seen with the Moirai. And when I met him, I couldn't turn away again. Just like you couldn't turn away when my father asked you to take me in. Leo's thread... his life would have led him down a road as bad as my life with... with Gabe. He's not much older than I was when you saved me. I—I... I couldn't just sit back and let him continue into a direction that would have meant so much pain for him."

"The boy will stay, but he is your responsibility", interrupted Persephone, surprising even Hades a little by her suddenly overthrowing his previous decision. "You are to keep him safe, out of trouble and educated. He can attend your classes, but I demand for you to find a solution about how to school his more... unique abilities. If you fulfill all those requirements, he can stay."

"Thank you, mamma", whispered Percy with a soft smile, before turning around to Leo – another sudden change of atmosphere. All seriousness was gone, the cold, calm aura replaced by the usual enthusiastic pulsing of Percy's ocean-like energy. "Come Leo, I'll show you my room! And you can have the room next to it! Oh, I need to do explain _a lot_. Have you ever heard of the Greek gods-?"

The son of Poseidon ran out of the throne room, pulling Leo along by the hand. Hades looked after them for a moment before he turned toward Persephone. So did the other gods.

"What in the world were you thinking?", asked Styx sharply. "The boy has no place here-"

"The boy is a pawn of my stepmother", interrupted Persephone with a frown. "I've overheard some things on Olympus the last time I was there. Stepmother dearest is up to something and I heard her mention a demigod who can control fire. You know how rare that ability is, even for children of Hephaestus. This boy that Percy brought home with him... Percy is right. He is very important. Important enough so Hera pays special visits to him and picked an interest in him."

Hades gritted his teeth. Hera's plans always unfolded in Zeus' favor. Interfering may be beneficial for them, but Hades wasn't entirely sure. They could easily make it look as though the boy had died along with his mother in that fire, keeping him hidden here and finding out what kind of potential he truly had. It was still unsettling. How had Percy known any of this...?

"I think it's a good idea", offered Thanatos. "Because you all seem to constantly forget one thing. Percy is a child. He's merely nine years old, yet all the contact he has is with immortal gods. I don't even think that he remembers what it's like to play with another child. We're doing our best to be a family for him, but we can't also replace friends. This boy Percy found, he can control fire. Not only is that a child around Percy's age and a demigod, he also carries the same burden as Percy. He has the control over an element. It's a strength, but it's also a curse to some, because it isolates them even from other demigods. I think that without knowing, Percy picked the perfect playmate for him. And I also think it may help settling Percy a little, to have another child around for him."

Hades adapted a thoughtful look before nodding. "I suppose you're right. Sometimes, I forget that he's only a human child and that those require... a little more. Very well, but if that new friend causes any problems or endangers my boy, I have no qualms getting rid of him. The only one who is important is Perseus. Now, I wonder if Perseus can fulfill Persephone's requirements..."

"You wonder", observed Morpheus curiously. "That means you believe there is a chance."

"He's not a child of Athena by a long shot, but he's very resourceful when he wants something", replied Hades cautiously. "And he is... powerful. More so than I had expected, actually."

"You're... talking about the strange aura just now", stated Melinoe, shifting a little.

"Yeah, sis is right. What the Tartarus was that?", agreed Makaria with a frown.

"The... calm before the storm", replied Hades, his voice dark. "Something I have seen on my brother a few times and on only the most powerful children of Poseidon."

"What does it _mean_?", pushed Makaria impatiently. "It was weird. He's never calm!"

"You know how the sea can be completely still before a great storm? That's it", answered her father. "When arguments between Zeus, me and Poseidon reached the highest peak, he'd... get like this. Completely calm, collected and rational. That was always when I knew that what would follow was going to be devastation. War. Destruction. I think it was wise that Persephone cut this argument short. Perseus has a lot of potential and he has learned how to control his powers quite well, but he is far from perfect. I'm not sure what kind of consequences it would have for him to break the calm and reach the destructive point of the raging sea that lays behind it just yet. He's too untrained."

Styx shifted her weight onto her other leg as she twisted her body to look away from the other gods. Percy was a son of one of the Big Three, those always came with great assets. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter trained demigods, but never specifically for their powers, at least not the strong ones. For reasons like those. That Percy was able to access such a state at this tender age was dangerous, because it meant the boy could grow even more powerful. One could even go as far as to say that Lupa and Chiron deliberately didn't train the children of the Big Three in their special areas because if a single demigod grew too powerful, the chances of them trying to take over the world were just too great – Napoleon, Hitler and others had tried it before. But not Percy. Styx, as the goddess of hatred, could feel and see it. There was no hatred or evil in this child. And that scared her even more, because hatred also made people vulnerable and easy to overthrow at times. What kind of power would Percy be able to access without such a flaw...?

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: With how Hades and Persephone are scheming themselves, I figured Persephone would keep an ear open on Olympus, perhaps overhear something of Hera's plans. After all, her Second Prophecy plans got put into action even before the First Prophecy~ And Hades is wondering how Percy knew since he doesn't know that the Fates taught Percy how to read an aura, which was how Percy knew how important that little life is.<br>_

_Next chapter will be the last childhood chapter for Percy before the di Angelos get introduced, but I really wanted to do one more with Leo and Percy having some brother-bonding time. Also, the Great Prophecy nears and Hades makes a big decision._

_Also, you guys are killing me. Thank you very much. All that feedback is knocking me out! *grins brightly* VERY motivating indeed. *laughs*_


	4. The Terrible Trio to Taunt the Titans

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 3: The Terrible Trio to Taunt the Titans_

"This. Is. Not. A. Race. Stop it! This instance!"

"Woeee!", yelped Leo in a high-pitched voice as his red chariot passed Percy's.

"Don't spoil the fun, uncle Charon!", called Percy, on hot pursuit.

Charon's scowl deepened. He was probably the least happy about the newest addition to the underworld. That Valdez-kid was nothing but trouble. Makaria and Melinoe hadn't minded playing with Percy before, but this kid was full of mischief to the same extend as Percy. And at the same time, he was more resourceful than Percy. With a little scrap metal, he could build dangerous devices. Like the two flying chariots that he had made for himself and Percy. It had been about nine months now that the Latino was living in the underworld and he had taken to it nearly as naturally as Percy. The adventures that laid in the depth of the underworld were calling to the children and they explored it every chance they got. They pulled pranks on souls and the underworld judges and gods. Though while Percy viewed the gods as his family, Leo was a little more reluctant toward that. To him, there was Percy and only Percy. The gods scared him too much, so he hid behind his new big brother every chance he got. Which was all in Percy's interests too, because being the big brother instead of the baby everyone watched out for was actually pretty awesome.

"He's... happy", observed Hades from the window of the throne room as the kids flew past it.

"You're slow, dear", pointed Persephone out as she joined her husband. "Keeping Leo had been the right decision. We made him not-sad, but having Leo made him _happy_. We did everything we could, but there are things only friendship can give a child. Percy made a friend. It's vital for the development of a child to have friends. And if you want him to become the consort to one of your little... demigods, then he needs to know how to interact with demigods his own age."

"I like it when he's happy", continued Hades, not minding his wife, but rather startling her. "He looks even more like his father when he smiles. Poseidon used to smile a lot when we were kids. Is it ironic to say that our time in our father's stomach was the happiest we had? We played and laughed so much, but then Zeus cut us out and we were suddenly thrown into a war against the titans, followed by all the responsibilities of being gods and leaders. You're right, keeping the little pet was a good decision if it can make Perseus carefree. The underworld is his belly, the safe bubble that will burst all too soon and then _he_ will be thrown into the middle of a war. He should enjoy it for as long as he can. Regardless of how much trouble that pet is."

"If you'd only stop calling Leo a pet", muttered Persephone affectionately.

"I can't afford to get attached to another demigod", stated Hades firmly and glared at his wife.

Persephone's smile turned a little sad at that. What Hades said was true, probably. Getting attached to those who can die was dangerous. The only reason why Hades had allowed himself to get attached to Percy to this extend was the ultimate goal: Giving Hades' children immortality and making Percy an immortal and eternal consort. Persephone heaved a sad sigh.

/break\

Percy and Leo were laughing loudly as they crash-landed in the forges. It was strange, before Leo had arrived, Percy had barely wasted another thought on the forges. But Leo was a son of Hephaestus, a tinkerer. An inventor. Within the first week of Leo's stay, Percy naturally had to show the younger boy the forges so they could realize the things inside Leo's head. Okay, Leo had been mighty intimidated by all the tall cyclopes there, but the urge to invent had been greater.

And even for Leo's fear, they had found a solution. Or rather, Hades had. Not that he would ever admit it out loud. Percy was aware of the fact that Hades kept Poseidon updated. Sometimes, Percy gave Hades a letter of his own, using his very effective kitten-eyes to convince the Death God of also giving that to Poseidon. When Poseidon had heard of Percy's new-found happiness of being a big brother and of Leo's craving to build things, there had been a surprise waiting for the boys.

Poseidon's forges under the sea were very famous, but all three realms had forges. Hephaestus' forges on Olympus and the forges of Hades. To show good will and that they were allies, Poseidon send his cyclopes to either of the other two forges. Now, when three months ago the latest cyclopes had arrived, one of them had been different from the others. His name was Tyson and he was really just a child, like Leo and Percy. But unlike many other cyclopes who had a nasty and borderline cruel nature, this one was happy, friendly and curious. Leo and Percy had instantly befriended him.

"You broke them", stated Tyson with an upset frown.

"We didn't mean to, big guy", sighed Leo, looking equally upset.

"What are you two moping about?", huffed Percy and slung one arm around either of them. "This only means we have to rebuild them. And improve them – make them even more awesome!"

"Yes!", cheered both others enthusiastically at that.

/break\

For the first time in his life did Percy _truly_ feel complete. Regardless of how much he loved his godly family and the pranks Melinoe and Makaria liked to play with him, they were still gods. Busy gods. It happened on a regular base that his classes were canceled or that _Sorry, sweetheart, I really don't have the time right now_ because of some godly business. They loved him, but they were gods and they had other priorities than spending all day with a child. But now he had two awesome little brothers who played with him as often as he wanted and who were just great.

"Percy! Where are we going?!", called Leo loudly against the wind.

The trio was riding on Zerberus, each of them clinging to a different head as the guard-dog of the underworld transported them farther and farther away from the palace. Leo grew uneasy. He had never been that far away from home. Home. It was strange that this gloomy, dark and dangerous place had somehow become his home. And even though Lord Hades still called him a pet, somehow Leo felt like that was a bit affectionate, because even when Leo and Percy had gotten badly hurt four months ago when they had teased some poor soul who had been punished to constantly push some bolder up a hill just so it could roll down again, Hades hadn't fed Leo to Zerberus. He had even visited Leo's room to see how badly he had been injured and to scold him. Not in an angry-lord-of-death-fear-my-wrath way, but more in the way Leo's mother used to when he had gotten hurt and she had been scared because of that. And of course there was Percy, who Leo loved with all of his heart. He had always wanted a brother and Percy was so much more than just that – Percy was his guardian angel. Just like he had said when they had first met.

"I have to check something", called Percy back.

Leo was not the only one growing uneasy. Even Zerberus slowed down the farther they went. When the three-headed dog downright refused to continue, the three children climbed off of him and continued by foot. Tyson glanced around nervously. The underworld wasn't the element of a child of Poseidon, but as long as he was at the forges, Tyson felt home. It were those parts of the underworld that were unsettling for him. He briefly wondered why Percy didn't feel it.

"It's creepy. Don't you think it's creepy, big brother?", asked Tyson, sounding untypically small.

"Of course I think it's creepy", huffed Percy and rolled his eyes, before pausing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset the two of you. If you think it's too creepy, you can return back home and I'll go alone, but... there is something... calling to me these days. I gotta check."

Tyson and Leo exchanged an uneasy look before huffing and straightening. They hooked their arms with Percy's and continued on, making Percy smile. There was no way Tyson and Leo would let their big brother go somewhere dangerous alone, regardless of how scared they were themselves. They regretted their bravery a little while later though. Because they reached a cliff. No, it was more than a cliff. It was the entrance to a seemingly bottomless pit of depression and darkness.

"This is a whole new level of creepy, Perce", whispered Leo and tugged on Percy's hand. "Please don't make me feel like Nala by being in the shadow-realm even though the king told you not to."

Percy blinked a couple of times in slow-motion before cracking a smile. "I highly doubt that there will be hyenas jumping out and chasing us any time soon, little lion cub."

"Still, Perce!", hissed Leo with a pout, staring at the darkness. "These are bad shadows, even _I_ can tell and I don't even wanna know what kinda heebie-jeebies they give _you_."

"That's why I came here", whispered Percy lowly, looking dead serious. "And besides, if something happens, I control water, you control fire and Ty is super-strong. We'll be fine."

Out of habit, Leo flicked his wrist. A small flame started to dance around his fingers, circling each one of them before continuing to the next. A year ago and he would have accidentally set himself on fire, but thanks to Percy, Leo knew how to control his emotional link to his powers and thus, how to control his powers. Percy had spend about a week wrecking his brain when Leo had first arrived in the underworld. It had upset Leo greatly to be the cause of worry, but Percy had told him to shut up, because Percy _wanted_ him to stay. So Percy needed to find a solution. Leo had inquired how Percy had learned to control his powers – and that was how Percy had come up with a solution. Percy was being taught by an underworld okeanid. Styx had many siblings, yet she only had four nymph-sisters, the five rivers of the underworld – Acheron, the goddess of pain, Cocytus, the goddess of wailing, Lethe, the goddess of oblivion, and Phlegethon, the goddess of fire. Phlegethon, a river made of fire. A water-controller couldn't learn much from her, but a fire-controller on the other hand would find the perfect teacher in her. For the last eight months, Phlegethon had taught Leo how to properly control the fire within him as well as the fire surrounding him. He was still far from Percy's level of control and power, but then again he was also two years younger than Percy and three years behind on training. Percy always praised him for learning so fast, so Leo was content.

"I know I'm gonna regret that question, but why did you think you have to come here?", asked Leo.

"Something... has been calling to me...", whispered Percy with a frown. "A voice, telling me to come here. I just... I _needed_ to see what was here. And I... don't like it. Not one bit."

"Does that mean we can leave again?", asked Tyson hopefully.

Percy took a moment before he answered. "Yes. Let's head back home, brothers."

/break\

Demeter was smiling amused as she was in her daughter's garden, knee-deep in dirt. Whenever Persephone returned from Olympus, her garden needed some redoing. After thousands of years, it was nice to have a little backup helping with the garden work.

"Look, I made a flower-crown for big brothers", stated Tyson happily.

Percy and Leo giggled as Tyson placed white flower-crowns on their heads. Demeter's smile softened tenderly at that. They were such happy children, so beautiful. Percy looked like an Elvish prince, with his glowing, white skin and sparkling, green eyes. The boy was nearly ten years old now and he already possessed so much beauty. Demeter was sure that once the boy would hit his teenage years, he would break quite some hearts. Hopefully not those of Hades' children. Demeter saw one flaw in Hades' and Poseidon's deal. What if Percy didn't fall in love with either child of Hades? And they had yet to tell Percy about his already sealed engagement.

"Look, granny Demy!", called Leo eagerly, patting the earth around a hibiscus bush.

"Oh, you did well, little one", praised Demeter, patting Leo's head (mindful of the crown).

While Leo was still very afraid of the gods of the underworld, he adored Demeter, Persephone and Hestia a lot. Especially so Hestia, since the goddess of the hearth controlled fire to a certain extend too. Sadly, 'granny Hestia' didn't often come to visit. Not that it had been planned for her to know, but unlike Hera and Zeus, Hestia sometimes visited her other siblings, because she had always cared deeply about her family. So when one day, Hestia had visited the underworld, she had discovered the green-eyed, little secret that Hades tried to hide. Of course, Hestia promised to keep the secret. She loved children, after all. So did Demeter, especially when she looked at the three cheerful boys, digging in the dirt and planting bushes and trees.

/break\

Percy was sitting at the shore of the river Styx, staring thoughtfully at the reflexion on the rippling surface. He noted dully how a beautiful woman materialized behind him.

"Teach me how to hate", stated Percy softly.

"W—What...?", asked the minor goddess stunned and sat down next to the boy.

Percy turned toward her with his large, innocent eyes. "Papà always says that knowing the weaknesses and strengths of your opponent gives you an advantage. Hatred... motivates people, doesn't it? How am I supposed to fight something that I don't understand?"

"Where... does that come from?", asked Styx cautiously.

"There is... this... voice in my head", admitted Percy softly, frowning. "It... it feels dangerous and... a bit like you. Is that... what hatred feels like...? I... need to understand it to overcome it, right?"

Styx gulped slightly. She wasn't sure what to do. Percy was the purest being she had ever encountered and she had thought that hatred may hinder the boy's strength, be the flaw to keep him from becoming too powerful. The way Percy spoke though... _overcoming_ hatred would make him close to invincible. What they did, it was more than training a future hero. They were training a god.

"I can't teach you how to hate", stated Styx and shook her head. "If you don't feel it, I can't make you feel it. I can only intensify the natural feeling inside of you."

"Then tell me how to hate, what to hate. What... triggers hatred?", asked Percy interested.

"Something... bad", sighed Styx, trying to find a way to explain this to the boy. "What your stepfather did to you. It _should_ make you hate him. He hurt you, physically and psychologically. Because of him, you had to leave your home and your mother."

"But if he wouldn't have hurt me, I would have never met my dad, or my papà and mamma and you all", countered Percy confused. "I mean, yes, what he did to me was horrible, but without him, I would have never gotten what I have now. And I would have never been there to save Leo."

"It's hopeless", stated Styx and shook her head. "If I can't make you hate him, I doubt there is anything that would provoke hatred in your heart. Why don't I teach you something you're capable of instead? I think we still have some unfinished lessons ahead of us."

Percy frowned, displeased. What the voice had evoked in him, it felt similar to the discomfort he had felt when in Styx' presence at first. Hatred, or at least that was what Percy assumed that hatred must feel like when coming from someone else. The voice worried him, because it kept calling him to the dark pit, with lulling words. Percy thought if he'd learn how to hate, he may be able to overcome this voice, because hatred seemed the strongest asset of this voice.

/break\

"Perseus?", asked Hades concerned, knocking at the door.

"Lasciare in pace", was the reply.

"I'm not going to leave you alone", countered Hades and opened the door.

"Cossa posso fare per lei, papà?", sighed Percy in defeat. [trans: _What can I do for you, papà?_]

Hades had been teaching Percy Italian for over three years now. After all, Bianca and Nico had spend little time in the US before Hades had put them into the Lotus Hotel. Most of their life, they had spend in their home – Venice. If Percy spoke their mother tongue, they'd have something to connect them right from the start, to make forming a bond easier. That aside, learning a language was good for a child. But Hades had noticed that Percy only used it when he was being emotional.

"Leo, Tyson and even Styx inform me that you have been... acting different in the past few weeks", stated Hades and strode over to Percy's bed to sit next to the boy. "What's wrong, bambino?"

"It's nothing", lied Percy and turned to look out the window.

"I do not appreciate being lied at", warned Hades with a glare.

"But when I say that I don't want to talk about it, you'll keep asking", huffed Percy.

"Then at least tell me why you're feeling Italian at the moment", prompted Hades instead.

"Because it's _mine_", stated Percy simply. "Leo and Tyson don't understand it and the other gods normally speak English too. It just... makes me feel special and... comforted..."

"Why won't you tell me what's bothering you, Perseus?", asked Hades once more.

"Because... I... I think I'm going crazy", admitted Percy, sounding rather tiny as he folded himself as small as possible. "I... can hear a voice. It keeps calling to me, calling me to the pit."

"You're not going crazy, Perseus", stated Hades firmly and pulled Percy into a tight hug, ruffling the boy's hair. "That pit, it's the entrance to Tartarus. All evil monsters are caged down there. Sometimes, the souls down there try and call out to others to free them. The other gods and I have grown so accustomed to it, we barely even notice it anymore. You're not going crazy, but... _please_ don't go near that pit ever again. Don't listen to the voice."

"So it's not me...?", asked Percy, turning hopeful eyes on his papà.

"No, bambino, no", assured Hades, kissing the top of Percy's head. "Now promise me. Promise me to _never_ approach Tartarus. It's a dangerous and dark place. I don't want you near it."

Percy laughed softly. "Yes, Mufasa. I promise not to go to the shadow-realm."

"Sometimes I regret that Hecate introduced you to Disney", muttered Hades beneath his breath. "As long as you don't pull a Simba and disobey me here, because I'm very serious about this. There lays real danger in this place and I don't want you to get hurt, Perseus."

"I promise, papà", nodded Percy obediently, snuggling up to Hades.

Hades frowned concerned as he kept caressing Percy's hair, lulling the boy to sleep. He had a feeling that whatever the Great Prophecy had promised was approaching. Most likely, Hera's plans for Leo had something to do with it. Now one of the prisoners in Tartarus tried to call to Percy. The way it looked, the time had approached. The time to get Nico and Bianca out of the Lotus Hotel. Well, Nico had been ten when Hades had brought his children to the safety of the Lotus Hotel, so he and Percy would be the same age then. It could be a bit of a problem for Bianca, since she was two years older than the boys. But if Hades was being honest with himself, he had plans for Nico to become Percy's partner. At first he may have claimed that the choice laid with his children, whichever one of them would want Percy would get him, like some kind of trophy, but by now Percy had grown to him like another one of his children. Percy's happiness was important. And Hades could already see the signs. He knew the son of Poseidon had a minor crush on Eric from _The Little Mermaid_, the handsome, dark-haired prince. Percy was gay, as far as Hades was willing to label anyone. He had never paid the pretty princesses any mind, if anything he wanted to be like them. Like Ariel, who broke free from the realm she knew to discover the human world and find true love. Like Belle, who lived in her worlds of books, seeking own adventures.

It was time to level-up this game. Time to bring Nico and Bianca into this.

He could only hope that Nico would be interested in Percy too. Then again, looking at the beautiful and kind boy in his arms, he knew that it was impossible not to love Percy Jackson. If Percy would set his mind to it, he surely could bend even the straightest boy to fall in love with him.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: In case it's not entirely clear why Italian comforts Percy - Percy learned all his lessons from the other gods, but Italian was the one thing Hades taught him. It's their thing, so it reminds Percy of the times he got to have his papà all to himself. One more thing, duh, the voice is Kronos. <em>

_And yes, Hades will keep his promise. Next chapter, Nico and Bianca will be freed. Percy will learn about the engagement and Nico will start his epic bromance with Frank. Also, Persephone gets a mommy-moment with Perce._


	5. The Underworld's True Heirs

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 4: The Underworld's True Heirs_

"Perseus, we need to talk."

Percy, Leo, Tyson, Melinoe and Makaria looked up from the board game they were playing. The teenage goddesses exchanged a curious glance, while Tyson and Leo looked worried. Percy grinned and kissed Leo's cheek cheerfully before he got up to walk over to his papà. Though his happy grin slipped off his lips when he noticed the serious look on Hades' face. They walked slowly to Percy's room where Hades decidedly closed the door, motioning for Percy to sit down.

"I told you how I took you in, back when your father brought you here...", started Hades slowly.

"Ehm... Yes...?", nodded Percy, growing nervous. "Papà, you're freaking me out here. D—Do you want to give me away again, or what is this about? You're so... serious..."

Hades looked over at the ten-years-old boy, reaching out to place one large hand on top of Percy's head, ruffling the soft, black locks slightly. "I love you very much, my boy. I'm not giving you away. Well... in a way, I suppose you could say I am, but... Oh, I'm the lord of death, I'm not meant for those emotional discussions. Perseus, when I took you in, it was not just a one-sided favor. He promised me back then that if I took you in, you'd one day become the consort to one of my demigod children. I have two, a daughter and a son."

"So... that's it...", whispered Percy shallowly. "You took me in to get a trophy husband for your daughter, or what? Son of Poseidon, powerful demigod, nice match...?"

"Perseus, listen to me", stated Hades firmly, grabbing Percy by the shoulders. "That was the deal back then, but then I got to know you. And I hope that you know that you mean more to me than a pawn in a greater scheme. And... I'm not going to make you marry my daughter."

"Mh?", grunted Percy confused, still with tears shimmering in his eyes.

"I'm aware of your... preference", replied Hades, looking mildly uncomfortable (praying that he didn't have to have The Talk with Percy too now). "And even so, I am not going to _force_ you to marry my son. I would like to see that happen, yes. But if you don't find love in him, I am not going to demand for this part of the deal to be fulfilled. I'd like it though, to ensure that my promise will be kept to the end. I protected you as a child, am still protecting you, until you're old enough and then I'd like to give you away in marriage to my son, so he can protect you from then on."

Percy blushed a little, his disappointment and fear vanishing. He knew Hades loved him like a son and to hear that Hades would like for that marriage to happen, not for the sake of his real son, but to make sure that Percy would stay protected and safe. Sighing softly, Percy leaned against his papà, wondering why he had never met those demigod-children, then asking himself if this boy would be nice or friendly. And then he was petrified that Hades had known he liked boys more than girls.

/break\

"Today, we're going to tell you about the children of Hades", stated Atropos, snapping her scissors.

Percy's back straightened as he listened carefully. He was leaning against the wall, with Leo's head on his lap, his fingers combing through Leo's curls. The Latino too perked up. They were aware of the deal Hades and Poseidon had, but Hades had never really talked about his children.

"In the past hundred years, there had been four children of our master", started Lakhesis slowly.

She did everything slow and it annoyed Percy beyond measurement. "What were their names?"

"Slow, young one", warned Atropos, hitting him upside the head with the blunt side of the scissors. "Their locations. Even though the center of our power had moved to the US already, three of the four children of the underworld had been born in Europe."

Percy nodded slowly, rubbing the now sore spot on his head. European demigods. Not that it meant much to him. He had ever only been to New York, so even the US were a wide and undiscovered territory to him. Europe was... like talking about Olympus itself. Something unreachable, unimaginable. A completely different world, really.

"Adolf Hitler was born in Austria. An... unassuming little youth, really", continued Lakhesis, her voice still as slow as she toyed with her measuring tape. "But his strength. The most important thing about those four children of the underworld is that they all represented a different aspect of Hades. Adolf had a voice, mightier than Aphrodite's charmspeak. He could make people kill others. His speeches were so powerful that they led to a disastrous amount of death. He didn't particularly kill himself, he possessed the ability to make others kill in his name and execute his will, however cruel and unreasonable it may have been. He was stopped and killed by the sons of Poseidon and Zeus."

Percy and Leo nodded sharply, exhaling a relieved sigh. Killed was good, it meant this one wasn't one of his suitors then, right? That was what Leo was wondering. Though something about the abrupt end of the story made Percy wonder. Poseidon and Zeus, together? Percy didn't understand, not really. Why would two of the three brothers team up against the other? Why didn't all three get along? It was something about Zeus though, something that made Percy curious, because Percy knew that under no circumstances whatsoever was he to ever meet this god. His own father was staying away from him out of this reason. So why was the son of a gentle god like Hades such an evil threat while the son of a cruel god like Zeus was a celebrated hero? Percy knew about the Second World War, well vaguely anyway. He didn't pay much mind to human history since he didn't particularly see himself as part of that world. He continued caressing Leo's curls.

"Bianca and Niccoló di Angelo are full-blooded siblings", continued Atropos. "Born in Italy. They were young when the Three Brothers made an oath not to sire any more children. Even though the di Angelos had been born before the oath, Zeus wished to see them dead. Hades brought them and their mother to the US to save them, but Zeus stroke the mother down and ended her life." For dramatic purposes, Atropos cut a thread of life at that. "Hades changed his plans and hid the children in the Lotus Hotel, a place where time is frozen. Since then, they had been living there, eternal youths like Pan's Lost Boys, waiting for the day they would be released..."

Leo's eyes darted over to Percy curiously. The time had come, apparently. Only last month, Hades had told Percy about the siblings and the deal. Now the Moirai taught them about the children of the underworld. Apparently, it was time for the di Angelos to leave the Lotus Hotel.

"What about the fourth?", piped Leo in, growing more interested. "There was a fourth, right?"

"Hazel Levesque, the one born in New Orleans", nodded Klotho in agreement. "Died, years ago."

"You said something about their powers", interrupted Percy. "What are they?"

"Hazel controlled the earth and its riches, especially so metals", replied Lakhesis. "Bianca's center of power lays with the darkness and shadows, most of all the creatures of darkness and night. While Niccoló controls a different aspect of death, not influencing others to kill, but rather controlling death itself. Ghosts, zombies and skeletons. Summoning them, controlling them."

"Sounds like your Prince Charming is going to be a Prince Creeping", stated Leo with a snicker.

"Shut up!", exclaimed Percy embarrassed and blushed, hitting Leo upside the head.

"For the next half year", interrupted Klotho their quarreling. "You two are under strict supervision and both of you are not allowed to leave your wing of the castle."

Percy's breath stopped. Did that mean Hades wanted to actually _bring_ his children down here? And then his heart sank some. Apparently, Hades didn't want them to meet yet. And as much as he itched to get to know them, he knew when to listen to the Death God. This was one of those times.

/break\

Hades had contemplated sending the Furies out to get his children out of the Lotus – knowing that seeing them would make him feel overly guilty about Maria's death. But the Furies had a new and more tedious task. Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone were the designated babysitters of Leo, Percy and Tyson respectively. So Hades did it himself, getting in and getting out, with the children at his hands. He had been tempted to delete their memories, but tempering with those may make things more complicated. He wanted them to be heroes, they needed to know who and what they were.

"Papà? Where are we going?", asked Nico, looking up at Hades with those large, dark eyes.

"The man who killed your mother, he... is still out there and if I take you home with me, you'd be in danger. I want to take you home and keep you safe there, but I can't", stated Hades firmly. "It would be a risk. You can't live with me, but... for a short while, I suppose I have to teach you certain things. After that, I'm bringing you away for a while, somewhere where you will be out of harm's way. I enrolled you in a boarding school. You will stay together and you will stick together."

Nico stared up at his papà, blinking a couple of times, his dark eyes full of trust, love and admiration. His papà was his hero, after all. Especially now that his mamma was gone. He only had his papà and his sorellona Bianca. They were his only family, his whole world. His eyes turned to his sister, looking for confirmation. As long as Bianca was there to protect him, he'd be alright.

/break\

'Certain things' equaled an update on the last eighty years. Everything was strange. So much had changed in the past eighty years. Nico was still trying to wrap his head around that – his papà had explained it, that they had been somewhere without time and Nico remembered playing there, but... how could he have played for so long? That was impossible. Nico and Bianca spend a few months in a dark palace in the underworld – their dad was _Hades_, the god of the underworld! And other gods like Thanatos and Hecate and Nemesis taught them about what they had missed, what had happened. Brought them up to speed and taught them basics about defense and sword-fight.

Nico loved it. Everything. The palace, the black river, the gem-gardens, _Zerberus the three-headed dog_ – how awesome was that, after all? Though he was feeling watched. Every now and then, he would hear laughter or whispers, like children. It was creepy, but also curious.

"Do you think they're ghosts?", whispered Nico one night, sticking his head down from his upper bunk to look at Bianca. "Child ghosts who haunt the castle...? I mean, you hear them too, right?"

"Maybe", sighed Bianca annoyed. "Go and ask Melinoe when you train with her tomorrow."

Nico wiggled his nose at that. Melinoe was the goddess of ghosts and their half-sister. Since Nico apparently could control the dead (how freaking amazing and mind-blowing was _that_?!), she taught him to control those powers so once they'd return to the surface, he wouldn't drag a whole cemetery after him wherever he walked. But she was unsettling and kind of mean.

"I think I saw one the other day", continued Nico thoughtful. "Because he was all trans... trans... what's the word, Bia? That thing that's nearly see-through and glowy?"

"Translucent, Nico", chuckled Bianca amused, offering her little brother a small smile.

"Right", nodded Nico in agreement. "But he must have been an angel. He was all beautiful, with those _really_ intense eyes. They looked just like the sea we saw back home in Venezia. I'll never forget those eyes. But then he just ran off, or vanished, I dunno, when he noticed me."

"That's what ghosts do, Nico", laughed Bianca, shaking her head. "Now go to sleep."

/break\

Once Hades deemed it enough, he took them by the hands and brought them out of the underworld again. Nico was upset. He had grown to admire his father even more now that he knew his papà was an awesome Greek god. But he was ten, too stubborn to agree with what Bianca obviously already accepted. It was too unsafe for the children to be down there, they were growing too powerful, the power-spike would alert Olympus and Zeus was the one who wanted to see the siblings dead. Hades brought them away to stay safe. Nico was depressed by this, he would have loved to explore the underworld more. But his father had made sure that the siblings mostly stayed in the palace – too much activity on their part would already be too suspicious. They needed to keep a low profile. And now they would start a new life, for as long as they had to – Hades promised it wasn't forever, promised they would be able to be reunited, promised that one day, he would be able to claim them and they would be safe. For now, safety meant the outskirts of Canada, because it was out of the gods' reach.

"Nico", started Hades, his voice unusually soft as he knelt down in front of the boy. "I have a present for you, so you don't forget me or my promise. I know you like this game, but you're still missing one figurine. Mine. So I want you to take it so it can protect you in my stead."

Nico's eyes sparkled brightly as he was handed the miniature figure of Hades. This was going to be his new treasure, together with the other two items he had gotten from his father. A silver skull-ring with ruby-eyes and a one-edged sword with a black Stygian-iron blade that he had named Nightmare. Styx herself had taught him and Bianca how to wield Stygian-iron.

"Ti voglio un mondo di bene, papà", mumbled Nico, sobbing a little as he hugged Hades tightly. [trans: _I love you very much, daddy_]

"Sono orglioso di te, bambino", murmured Hades, his voice a dark rumble. "Stai attento." [trans: _I'm very proud of you, my boy. Be careful_]

Nico nodded, to confirm that he understood and would obey. Grabbing his suitcase, he took a deep breath and entered the new room that would be his home for the next unbeknown time.

"Oh. Hey. You must be my roommate. Cool."

Nico jumped slightly at that and whirled around. The room was rather spacious, with two beds on opposite walls, with a large window stretching between them. One half of the room was messy, with a chubby Asian boy laying on the bed. He offered Nico a grin.

"Si", nodded Nico, before pausing. "I mean... yes. Hello, I'm Nico di Angelo, nice to meet you. I guess we're going to spend a lot of time with each other from now on, so I hope we get along."

"Frank Zhang", introduced the other boy, his grin turning into a smile with sparkling eyes when he caught sight of the tiny statue in Nico's hand. "That's _Hades_! Awesome! Do you play Mythomagic?"

Nico blinked a couple of times and put his stuff down. "Sure. I love it. It's the best."

"Totally!", exclaimed Frank eagerly. "Oh man, we _so_ have to play together!"

Nico grinned some too now. He had never met someone who shared his enthusiasm for Mythomagic. Bianca disliked it, found it childish. Plunging down on his bed, he thought that maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all. Frank looked like an okay guy.

/break\

Unlike Nico, Bianca had a harder time adjusting, actually. Not that she really showed it. Especially not in front of Nico. She was his big sister, she needed to keep him safe. But she already felt like she had failed him. The past six months in the underworld had changed Nico and so had their mother's death. While in the Lotus Hotel, it had been as though they had simply forgotten about it and Nico had been that completely cheerful and carefree little boy who had started to develop an obscure obsession with this game called Mythomagic. Reality had changed that some.

Nico was still a brightly smiling and at times too loud boy, but he had dimmed down some. The underworld had that effect on others, Bianca supposed. Meeting the goddesses of hatred and revenge wasn't helpful either. Teaching a ten-years-old boy how to fight for his life? Not perfect either. While all of this was more of the beginning of an adventure to Nico, Bianca was a little more serious about it. Then again, she was already twelve. Practically an adult, after all. Straightening her dress, she held her head high as she continued her way through the halls of their school.

She would protect Nico for as long as necessary, until their papà would get them back.

/break\

Percy jumped slightly when someone sat down next to him on his bed. He turned wide-eyed to his mamma, who had a knowing and amused smile on her lips. She handed him a hot cocoa.

"So, what's the verdict? What do you think about him?", prompted Persephone.

"About who?", asked Percy innocently, taking the cocoa.

"My husband's little... demigod", stated Persephone, wrinkling her forehead as she said 'demigod', like she wanted to say something else entirely. "Don't think I don't know that you spend your time sneaking around, trying to catch a glimpse without anyone noticing. I know you well enough to know that you must have succeeded at one point. So what was your impression of him?"

"I... don't know", replied Percy after a moment. "I mean, I didn't meet him, after all. We never spoke, I don't know his character, what he likes or dislikes or if he's clever. I only know what he looks like. Sure, he looks... uhm... cute, I guess. He looks nice, but... that doesn't have to mean that he actually _is_ nice. But he's papà's son, so he has to be nice too, right?"

Persephone smiled softly and caressed Percy's hair. "You're probably the only being aside from me who would claim that Hades is nice and that someone related to him would have to be nice too."

"Do you... Do you know when we're supposed to meet?", asked Percy shyly and nervously.

He was ten years old, the thought of being in a romantic relationship was weird and freaked him out. So on that account, he had been glad that Hades hadn't introduced him to the children of the underworld. But on the other hand, he would have liked to meet Nico, to get a feeling of how the son of Hades really was. What he could expect from his... husband. Percy's face brightened with a horrible blush at that. He was engaged. He was ten years old and he was engaged. Not that it was such a rare thing, he got enough history-lessons to know that especially when the gods were involved, marriages had often been arranged. It was still a weird thought. Percy had always hoped to find his own Eric one day, when he was older. Part of another world, to lure him into a new life.

"Later", replied Persephone honestly. "As late as possible."

"What does that mean?", asked Percy confused.

"It means that... you will one day go to the surface again. That will be when you meet Nico, truly meet him. But it will also mean that you, both of you and so many more, will be in danger", whispered Persephone, wrapping her arms around him to pull him closer. "And Hades and I, we hope that this point will be far in the future. Later."

"Oh...", nodded Percy in understanding, putting his cocoa down.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that he was being trained to fight so he could one day fight. He knew they were teaching him how to be a hero because they expected heroics from him. It wasn't all fun and games, one day he would have to put all the things he was learning from the gods to good use. One day, fate would be in his hands. His and Nico's. He dreaded that day, as much as Hades and Persephone did. Though somehow, the thought of not being alone then was comforting. As he had said, he wasn't stupid and he had known for a long time now that one day he would have to fight. But for the longest time, he thought he would have to fight alone.

Then Leo came into his life and became his brother. His fire-controlling, awesome little brother.

Followed by Tyson, who really could hold his own weight in a fight too.

And now he knew that when the day he would have to fight would arrive, he would also have Bianca and Nico di Angelo at his side. When Hades had promised him that the day Hades couldn't protect him any longer, Nico would, then Percy had believed it. Still did. If Nico was his father's son, he would keep his promise. Percy would be safe.

Percy just wished and prayed and hoped that aside from safe, he would also be loved, cherished and valued. He hoped that at the end of the road, there would be a happy ending waiting for him.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Sorry to those of you who expected Percy and Nico to meet. But creating such a deep-impact AU and not using it to its fullest would be foolish, so I first have to establish this world before just randomly throwing Percy and Nico together and saying "and that's that". So just like Percy, who got three chapters on his growing up and power-development, Nico gets three chapters too to show how he becomes the great hero of Camp Half-Blood and how he makes friends there before they finally meet. This was the first. <em>

_Next chapter however will have a time-skip. There will be bro-Frank-Nico, the sibling bond of the di Angelos will be explored and apparently EVERYBODY wants the di Angelos - may it be greedy manticores, huntresses or Camp Half-Blood._


	6. A Huntress, a Satyr and a Kidnapping

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 5: A Huntress, a Satyr and a Kidnapping_

The following three years had changed a lot of things. Had changed them. Nico was thirteen and had just entered puberty, while Bianca was fifteen. She was beautiful and swarmed by admirers. Which didn't sit right with her little brother, who had grown quite protective of his older sister.

"Dude, she's old enough to chose her own boyfriends", laughed Frank, clapping him on the shoulder as he caught up to Nico. "You need to stop it with the death-glares."

Even after three years, those things still made Nico snort. His best friend on the planet had no idea who he really was. But it was safer for them both this way. Nico had discussed it often with Bianca, had the urge to tell Frank the truth – the full truth. But no one could know the children of Hades were alive and a mortal would never understand anyway. It may drive Frank crazy.

"Can't help it, she's my sis", shrugged Nico casually. "Grab a burger before packing?"

"How you can hold your physique with all the junk food you eat is beyond me", snorted Frank.

Nico straightened up some at that, grinning a little. He knew his destiny. He was meant to be a hero, so even now that they weren't living in the underworld anymore, Nico still kept his training up. He was on the swim team, on the football team, in the fencing club and he took martial arts lessons. There was no way he would disappoint his father once the time came. He and Bianca also trained combat and with their swords in secret. Three years of excessive training had paid off for Nico. He wasn't the tallest boy around, but he had a well-defined body, a cheeky and sarcastic attitude, toned olive-skin and an Italian accent. Or, in short: Ever since he hit his teens, the ladies were after him. He was considered the 'perfect mixture between a hot bad-ass and a cute nerd', however that was working. Then again, he was an accomplished jock with a thing for black clothes, while also playing Mythomagic with Frank and watching _Star Trek_ and _Firefly_ (still crying about the fact that they had canceled that show) and this new up-and-coming relaunch of _Doctor Who_ (though Frank claimed that would never work out on the long run, especially now that Rose was off the show, since according to Frank, the relaunch had lived off the dynamic between Rose and the Doc. Nico was totally convinced they'd renew it for a third series). Frank himself was a nerdy jock too, working hard to rid himself of his baby-fat and he was by now only the slightest bit chubby anymore and that looked rather cute on him because he wasn't all muscle, which would look a little weird on a thirteen-years-old. The duo was practically inseparable – watching the same shows, playing the same games (video games too, mind you), being on the same sports-teams.

Sharing their first kiss, which both had sworn never to talk about again. Ever. Even under death-threats. It had happened last winter and while nearly everyone at the boarding school was going home for Christmas, but Frank had decided to stay at school this year. His mother was stationed overseas and she couldn't make it home for Christmas this year. Frank's only other relative was his grandma, but since she wasn't the youngest anymore, they had agreed that Frank would be attending a boarding school, so he wouldn't burden her so much – his idea back then. But now she wasn't well and even though he had wanted to come home and be with her, she had insisted she'd only drag him down, so instead he was supposed to spend Christmas with his friends. A mistletoe prank gone wrong had led to Frank and Nico awkwardly kissing and then wiping their mouths, swearing to never say a single word about the incident ever again.

Though it had helped Nico figuring some stuff out. When he was twelve, the first girl had told him that he was cute, he had just shrugged her off. This year around he had filled out more, with hitting puberty and the training finally properly paying off. He had kissed a few girls, holding hands. But it just didn't feel right. Not that kissing Frank had been _ideal_, because he didn't have that kind of feelings for Frank, but it had felt better than kissing a girl nonetheless. He started looking at people differently. Not the best thing to do in the locker rooms of the school, but that had made him realize that he was undeniably gay. And looking around, he figured out what he liked too. The football jocks were mostly broad, bulky dudes and that didn't do it so much for him. The swim team however had the leaner, lankier boys. Nico preferred himself a swimmer to a brute.

"So, what's the plan for this summer, man?", asked Frank curiously.

Nico grinned a little, head tilted some. "Dunno. What are you up for?"

The second summer at the school, Bianca and Nico had come home with Frank and met his grandma, stayed at his awesome mansion. Third summer and Hades had surprised Bianca and Nico by sending Missus Dodds, better known as one of the Furies or also as their math teacher (who scared the crap out of every student), money for a summer vacation. For four. That year, Bianca, Nico, Frank and Bianca's roommate and best friend Phoebe had gone to Italy and spend the summer in Venice, where Nico had been more than eager to show his best buddy everything.

"What do you guys think about visiting a summer camp?"

The friends turned around surprised to face a brunette boy with a goatee.

/break\

Bianca was in the middle of polishing her bow when three boys burst into her room. She was glad her roommate wasn't there. Especially when she noticed the horns pointing out of the brown curls of the boy being dragged behind between Frank and Nico, who were both wide-eyed.

"He's a satyr! Like in Mythomagic! But the cards didn't say anything about an enchilada-obsession!", exclaimed Frank, in complete ramble-mode.

Nico hastily closed the door and the satyr looked uncomfortable. Bianca heaved a sigh and put the bow down. She was just glad that Phoebe wasn't in at the moment, the ginger would have a heart-attack. She was pretty awesome – especially with a bow – but Bianca wasn't sure how she'd react to being confronted with the supernatural nature of the di Angelo family.

"Please calm down, Frank. He's a satyr, they eat everything", deadpanned Bianca.

Which seemed to shock the satyr more than Frank. "H—How do you know that?"

"You're from camp, right?", asked Nico eagerly, bright, white grin on his face.

"I... How do you know _that_?", continued the flabbergasted satyr.

"Camp?", repeated Frank confused. "What camp?"

"This is going to give me a headache, so why don't we split it off?", suggested Bianca with a frown. "Nico, explain everything to Frank, satyr, you and I will have a talk."

"My name is Grover. Grover Underwood", introduced the brunette, a little miffed. "I don't go around, calling you 'demigod' either. Though you are one. And you know that."

"Have known it for a couple of years", nodded Bianca casually. "I'm Bianca, that's my brother Nico. So... did our father send you, or notify camp? Or did you guys track us down on your own?"

"Chiron, the trainer at camp, he send me. He was secretive about it all though, how he knew about you and stuff", admitted Grover, growing more nervous. "So... your father's the god then?"

"Our father is the king", corrected Bianca, tilting her head. "Lord Hades."

"Oh.. cupcakes", cursed Grover beneath his breath. "That can't be good..."

"Prejudiced much?", challenged Bianca, cocking one eyebrow.

"-Woah, the gods are _real_? Like, real-real?", could be heard from Frank from the other corner.

"Not prejudiced, but... bad experience. Got to bring a kid of one of the Big Three to camp before, didn't...", started Grover before his voice cracked. "How come _he_ doesn't know about the gods?"

"Who? Frank?", asked Bianca confused. "Father told us not to let mortals in on the truth."

"He's not a mortal. He's a demigod", corrected Grover with a frown.

"I'm a _what_?!" - "He's one too?!" - could suddenly be heard from both the other boys.

Frank and Nico stared at Grover with large eyes before exchanging a look of their own. Grover shifted some, Bianca grew nervous about how Frank would react. And Nico and Frank high-fived.

"Awesome, man!", exclaimed Nico giddy. "Since your mom looked very much mortal the last time we saw her, it has to be your dad. Let's get this done and narrow it down! Maybe it's one of the Olympian gods? Oh, I bet you're a son of Apollo! You're such a great archer!"

"You think?", asked Frank, sounding nearly shy. "That would be totally cool, man..."

"I'll never understand boys", sighed Bianca fondly and shook her head. "Anyway, so our father most likely contacted camp and camp send you to get us. I... suppose we better pack up then."

"Bianca! We need to hurry!"

And if that day hadn't already been weird enough, this one certainly topped it all off. Phoebe stormed in, green eyes wide. Her bow was shouldered, but her jacket seemed oddly silver. Bianca didn't remember her friend owning such a piece of clothing. She also looked quite jumpy.

"Phoebes, calm down", suggested Bianca, listening with half an ear how Frank and Nico in the corner were debating on who Frank's immortal father could be. "What's happened? What's wrong?"

"No time to explain, you gotta trust me on this one, but there's a manticore at the school and he's trying to kill you, so we need to get out of here", rambled Phoebe.

"...Is everybody you know magic?", asked Frank in total awe.

"Apparently", replied Nico with a deadpan. "Please tell me she's not a demigod too."

That was the moment Bianca's headache hit her full-force. She send the satyr to accompany Frank and Nico to their shared dorm room so they could pack – and so she could have a word with Phoebe. The other girl looked a little calmer, which was due to Bianca. The girl was good at evening the mood of a person out by using her shadow-powers. A shadow was linked to its owner and by controlling it, she had extended control over the emotions of a person.

"Phoebe, what's going on?", asked Bianca softly while packing the most important things.

"I'm... I was send here", started Phoebe, shifting a little. "By Lady Artemis."

"That... is unexpected", mumbled Bianca with a frown.

"A favor your stepmother called in. The illegitimate daughters of Zeus have quite a close bond and Lady Persephone wanted to... give you this option. She has been observing you and how much you enjoy hunting, so she talked to Lady Artemis. I transferred to this school by her orders, to keep an eye out for you. And now there's a manticore at this school."

"Persephone wants me to become a huntress?", asked Bianca stunned.

Truth was, she had been intrigued by it when she had first learned about them in Klotho's history-classes. A powerful hunting party, only with girls. _That_ rocked. Phoebe nodded slowly.

"Look, I don't know all the details. You'd have to talk to my Lady about all of that", said Phoebe. "All I know is that your fate and your brother's fate are meant to separate here."

"That's not going to happen", snorted Bianca ridiculed. "I'll never abandon Nico."

It was a good thing that school was over for this year, because otherwise the five teens would have been a little suspicious as they left the school with their backpacks and in a total hurry – this way, they just looked like they had a plain to catch for their vacation or something along those lines. As soon as the three boys rejoined the girls, Bianca grabbed Nico's hand. He stared down at their linked fingers in mild surprise. Over the past year especially, she had been pushing him away – feeling too mature for his childishness, being so busy with her archery club and own classes.

"Va tutto bene, sorellona?", whispered Nico concerned. [trans: _Are you alright, big sister?_]

"Si", nodded Bianca stiffly, the word more a hissing sound really. "Non ti preoccupare, fratellino." [trans: _Yes, don't worry about it, little brother_]

"...If you say so...", muttered Nico beneath his breath, sounding not very convinced.

Frank frowned worried, knowing that if the siblings didn't share everything, something was definitely wrong. "So, dude, son of Apollo over here. Right? Or do we have other options?"

"H—How did you even meet?", interrupted Grover concerned. "I mean, you didn't just by accident wind up sharing a room with the _only_ other male demigod at that school, son of Hades!"

"I think one of the Fates favors me and gave me a best friend to share my secrets with", grinned Nico. "Probably the cute temp, since the three real ones are... not so cute."

"Dude, there's a temp with the Fates?", asked Frank stunned and blinked a couple of times.

"Yeah, when we were living with father, I sometimes caught a glimpse of this beautiful ghost with the green eyes who seemed to hang out a lot with the Fates", replied Nico with a nod.

"Dude, you _lived_ in the underworld?!", exclaimed Frank. "Tell me _all_ about it, man!"

"I hate boys", groaned Phoebe irritated. "They give me a headache!"

"You better get used to it. It's a long bus-ride to camp", chimed Grover, munching on a can.

"Who said anything about us going to camp?", snarled the huntress irritated.

"The satyr who was send by my father's orders. I trust those more than my stepmother's", stated Bianca calmly. "I'm staying with Nico and we're going to camp, as father planned it for us."

"Look, just take a moment and talk to Lady Artemis", pleaded Phoebe. "If not for your stepmother, at least for my sake. We're friends, right? Trust me when I tell you Lady Artemis doesn't have bad intentions. Just hear her out, please. Do it for me, Bia."

Bianca frowned annoyed. Phoebe had transferred here last year and become Bianca's new roommate after her old one had graduated. They had hit it off right away and Bianca didn't want to believe that all had been a ploy to make her join the moon-gang. Her expression softened.

"Grover, will you stay with Nico and Frank and wait for me, please?", requested Bianca.

"Sorellona-", started Nico in an agitated voice and Bianca already knew what he wanted to say.

"Only for a moment, please", said Bianca and kissed his forehead. "I'll be right back."

They could see the group of silver-white dressed females standing at the forest-line. Nico knew what the huntresses were. He didn't like this, even if it would mean he'd never have to chase any suitors away from his sister again. He heaved a sigh and gave up. While his sister went off with Phoebe, Frank and Nico started to explain to Grover how to play Mythomagic.

/break\

There were two teenage-girls waiting in front of the tent. They greeted Phoebe friendly.

"Those are Naomi and Celyn", introduced Phoebe with a nod. "That's Bianca. Bia, go ahead inside, Lady Artemis is waiting for you. I gotta do some reconnecting with my girls..."

The girl introduced as Naomi grinned and ruffled Phoebe's hair affectionately. Bianca tilted her head curiously. They seemed close. Somehow, Bianca hadn't made any friends in the past three years, only Phoebe. Perhaps because she had been expecting their father to collect them any day, so what was the point in making friends? Only Phoebe, when she had become Bianca's roommate, she had been _very_ persistent. Until the two girls were practically inseparable, very much like Nico and Frank. The thought of losing that one friend she had send a pang through her now.

"Bianca Francesca Elena di Angelo, I've heard a lot about you."

The young girl that had spoken smiled amused. She was cute, in a sweet-little-child way. That girl was younger than Frank and Nico, but that and her sweet face didn't fool Bianca. She had the connection to the shadows and those were very much like the aura of a person. She could read from the shadow how a person was, after all, a shadow was the reflexion of a person. And this girl, she wasn't a _girl_. She was a goddess. The sheer power of her was overwhelming.

"Bianca is enough, Lady Artemis", stated Bianca and wiggled her nose in distaste.

"Good girl", praised the older, stronger-looking girl next to the younger.

"You're... ancient too, but you're not a goddess", pointed Bianca out and shrugged. "Not much of a guess. Though your shadow's power and age... You _are_ of godly descendant."

"Kids of Hades are creepy", smirked the older one. "I'm Zoe Nightshade, head-huntress."

"What am I doing here?", asked Bianca, not much for small-talk.

"My sister and I talked about you a lot", stated Artemis calmly. "There is a prophecy, the prophecy that your father had been awaiting. It's not my place to recite it, though..."

"A Half-Blood of the eldest gods shall reach sixteen against all odds and see the world in endless sleep. The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze", recited Bianca, her voice completely calm, surprising the two physically younger girls a bit. "Father prepared us for _something_. I didn't idly sit by and do everything without doing some research. I found out about the prophecy when looking through his things in the palace."

"You _are_ a clever one, your stepmother is right with that", acknowledged Artemis. "The prophecy warns of a war. A great war. The way my brother and I interpret it, whatever it is will happen when a child of one of the eldest gods turns sixteen. Our father and his five siblings are some of the oldest gods. There are gods older than them, like Aphrodite or Hecate and her sisters and brothers. But children of minor gods don't live as dangerously as those of the Olympians."

"So you narrowed it down to children of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Demeter then", nodded Bianca and shifted some. "I'm fifteen. What... do _you_ want from me, though?"

"You're fifteen", said Artemis, nodding in agreement. "But the war that is approaching... It started, but it's far from breaking out just yet. Your father fears for your life. That you will not reach sixteen. It appears uncle Hades is quite upset about that prospect, so my sister asked me to save your life. Join my hunt and you will stop aging. You will never reach sixteen."

"You think I'm going to die", whispered Bianca, pitch-black eyes wide in fear.

"You don't want to leave your brother alone, but if you die, he _will_ be alone. In my hunt, you can protect him from afar", offered Artemis casually. "Phoebe reports to me that you're an excellent archer, a good fighter and a reliable friend. And that you don't let the boys charm you. It's a vital part of our hunt that you vow to never lay with a man."

There wasn't much to think about – she knew the Fates laid the groundwork, but in the end, it was her own decision what would happen with her life. Was she to die, or to live. She hadn't really felt loved by Persephone, so she was a little touched that the queen was looking out for her like that.

"Very well", agreed Bianca, nodding stiffly. "As long as I can still protect my brother."

/break\

It was the next day that Nico woke up again. Honestly, he had no idea what had happened. He remembered sitting on the ground, playing Mythomagic with Frank and a satyr. Then... nothing. And now he was blinking awake to a smiling face, bright blue eyes and golden-blonde hair.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty", grinned the blonde amused. "Congrats, you're the second to wake up. Grover is still hugging and chewing the pillow. Your friend Frank is already awake."

"W—What happened? My sister?", asked Nico and sat up, groaning a little.

"Slow down, handsome", chuckled the blonde, pushing Nico back down onto the bed. "Your sister is with the rest of the hunt in the Artemis Cabin. I'll send someone to fetch her."

"...Rest of the hunt?", whispered Nico, not understanding. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Will Solace, son of Apollo", grinned the blonde, waving a little. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Nico heaved a sigh and collapsed back on the bed. "What about my sister?"

"Uhm... Bianca kinda joined that girl-gang, just before the weird lion-scorpion dude attacked and kidnapped two of the scary girls", supplied Frank from the bed next to Nico. "What is this place?"

"Camp Half-Blood is a safe haven for demigods", supplied Will amused. "Once you're feeling better, you're required by Chiron and Mister D, our directors. They want to know what happened."

They got attacked by that stupid manticore. Nico cursed beneath his breath, running one hand through his hair. All because of those stupid huntresses. They could have already been on their way if they hadn't interrupted them. Why would Bianca betray him like that and join them?!

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Yes, Bianca joins the hunt here too, seeing as she's too old otherwise. Next chapter will have Nico being introduced to the Hermes Cabin and a fusion of The Lightning Thief and The Titan's Curse happening. <em>

_Also, I drew a cover for the story (as you may have noticed up above there). If you want to take a closer look, it's on my DA account (MoonlightFirefox - but the link to that can be found on my profile)._


	7. A Place for Weary Travelers

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 6: A Place for Weary Travelers_

Will Solace was an annoying mother hen, that was about the first thing Nico learned about this camp. Something must have happened so Bianca couldn't come and visit Nico, but that blonde nurse-boy kept Nico from going out and checking. So he used a moment of distractedness from the blonde and escaped. Unlike him, Frank hadn't been hurt too badly. He had fainted from shock, more or less. So the Canadian had been released five hours ago, given into the care of one scary looking brunette girl by the name of Clarisse la Rue. Apparently Frank was a son of Ares, not Apollo. Since Nico had no idea where to look for either of them – Bianca or Frank – he just went up to the biggest house to snoop around some. Inside were a centaur and a tall blonde with dark, blue eyes.

"...A Roman shouldn't be here", stated the blonde concerned. "It throws off the balance."

"We can hardly send the son of Mars away again", countered the centaur. "The Fates send him here and we have to trust them. As long as he and everyone believes he's Ares' child, it will be fine."

"What about the other boy, Nico?", continued the blonde, dismissing the other matter for now.

"Check on him and take him to the Hermes Cabin", sighed the centaur. "Tell him about his sister."

Nico stiffened at that. What about his sister? Why Hermes Cabin? He was the son of Hades and they knew it. And what was that about Mars and Ares? Too much information, too little time. He took off again, deciding to go looking for Frank himself. Those cabins weren't exactly secretive, he was pretty sure he could find out which one was Ares' cabin. Not the one with the flowers, or the one with the too much pink. But before he could reach his destination, someone grabbed his shoulder hard. Turning around, he came face to face with the grinning blonde with the scar.

"You must be the new kid, Nico right?", stated the blonde amused. "I'm Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and head of the Hermes Cabin. There's no easy way to say this, but... your dad doesn't have a cabin around, so you get to crash with me, my siblings and every other homeless demigod."

"Homeless demigod?", echoed Nico stunned, unwillingly following the older boy.

"Unclaimed kids, children of minor gods, those", nodded Luke, looking a little grim.

"Nice", snorted Nico with a frown and looked around. "So out of the hundreds of gods, only the ones with a throne on Olympus actually get beds for their kids? Great parenting."

Luke laughed and ruffled Nico's hair. "I have the feeling we're going to get along just great."

"Really? Wanna tell me about Romans? Or where my sister is?", countered Nico.

Luke's expression hardened. "Listen, it's important that you don't mention Romans. That wasn't meant for your ears. I'm the leader of Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for the demigod children of the Greek gods, so I have a couple more information than others and it should stay that way. For the safety of your friend. And about your sister... She left for a quest. There is a reason you and your sister were brought here now. Your father, Hades, he apparently needs your help."

"Please, tell me all about it", inquired Nico annoyed as they reached a cabin. "And stop explaining _everything_. Assume I'm in the know about how our godly world works."

The place was crowded with teenagers. Luke led him to a bunk-bed and motioned for him to sit. Nico obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Two boys were sitting on the upper bunk, one a freckled brunette and the other a green-eyed Asian. Their conversation stopped the moment they saw Luke.

"The Master Bolt has been stolen and somehow the information of you two being alive was leaked. Lord Zeus is pinning the theft on you and your sister, but your father grew angry and countered that his Helmet of Darkness had been stolen too", started Luke to explain. "It was a bit messy, but somehow the huntresses took an interest in your sister and when Grover came to pick you up, one of the huntresses got abducted. And now your sister got a quest from the oracle."

"What kind of quest?", growled Nico, growing impatient with the stalling son of Hermes.

"It was a pretty big deal", piped the freckled brunette in, hanging upside-down from the bunk. "The oracle never leaves the attic, but she did to give your sister a prophecy. Wanna hear?"

"Yes, please, finally someone willing to give me more information", sighed Nico relieved.

"Five shall go west to the goddess in restrains. You shall find what was stolen and make a bargain. To forego Olympus' greatest betrayal, campers and hunters combined to prevail. The Titan's curse must one withstand and one shall perish by a parents' hand", recited the brunette.

Death. Of course there had to be death in the prophecy. Wouldn't be a prophecy without it now, would it? Nico rolled his eyes at his own sarcastic thoughts. He needed to get a grip on it. Concentrate. Five, that meant Bianca at least hadn't left on her own. That was good, right?

"Who's on this quest, with my sister?", asked Nico concerned.

"A fair mix of hunters and campers. Bianca took the head-huntress Zoe with her, because they had lost contact to Lady Artemis and fear that the goddess in restrains is her", replied Luke, watching Nico with faint amusement. "And two campers. Clarisse, the head of Ares Cabin, and Annabeth, head of Athena Cabin. They're both great fighters and strategists. And they took Grover, as a kind of chaperone you could say. Don't worry, your sister will be fine. Clarisse is the greatest hero our camp has and Annabeth is a good friend of mine, I know she'll do her best."

Nico nodded stiffly and sat on the bed without saying a word until Luke left. The blonde returned with Nico's bag with what little possession the son of Hades had grabbed in his haste and packed before leaving their school. He didn't say anything, just stare at the backpack. The two boys on the bunk above him tried conversation, but Nico wasn't really listening to their attempts at cheering him up. Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis, and Alabaster Torrington, son of Hecate. Two other powerful underworld gods without cabins. Nico grew doubtful what good this camp was if it only recognized Olympian gods, but he tried not to dwell on that. He had bigger concerns now.

/break\

"This was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea..."

"I didn't force you to tag along!", countered Nico as they rounded the corner to the Smithsonian.

Frank just shot him a glare. "Like hell I'll abandon you. What was I supposed to say? 'Oh, you wanna risk your life on a potentially deathly journey to follow your sister around, sure go ahead. I'll just keep napping'. Not gonna happen, dude. But that doesn't change that this was a bad idea."

And perhaps Nico had to agree with Frank on that one when they finally caught up with the quest, the five of them surrounded by skeleton warriors. The tough looking brunette was holding her weight quite well, but the blonde girl seemed to be mildly injured already. That in itself wasn't a problem. They were skeletons, no match for Nico. But the roaring, giant lion creeping up on them was very much of a problem. No, nothing was a problem. Nico had decided to abandon this camp to protect his big sister and not even the Nemean lion would stop him.

"Frank, distract the kitten", ordered Nico as he approached the four girls and the goat-boy.

"H—How am I supposed to do _that_?! If I had a giant dog, I could take on the giant kitten!"

Nico wanted to comment on that, but when he turned to face his best friend, there was a giant and confused looking hellhound in Frank's place. Shapeshifting, okay, that was newish. He had read about it in his father's palace, but he hadn't expected to ever encounter a demigod with that power. The cute little Fate truly was in his favors then. Nico smirked, shushing the hellhound.

"Stop!", called Nico out in his most commanding voice as he turned to the girls, one arm raised.

Bianca stiffened where she was supporting a wounded Zoe. Her black eyes darted over to her brother. Annabeth and Clarisse, who both admittedly had grown a bit fond of the fierce daughter of Hades, followed her line of sight. The boy was a year or so younger than Annabeth, but the authority he radiated as he stood there was intense. The skeletons froze mid-attack and turned toward him. At first, Annabeth feared that whoever the kid was, he had just sacrificed himself for their sake, but the skeletons didn't attack. They knelt, like loyal soldiers in front of their king.

"That's my idiot baby-brother I told you about", whispered Bianca with a small smile, her voice filled with pride. "If I'm the Shadow Princess, he's the Ghost Prince."

Nico balled a fist and the skeletons just crumbled to dust. He aimed a glare at Zoe as he approached the group. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a completely bewildered Frank following him, carrying a fur with him. Great, even more explaining. He was looking forward to everything settling to a nice relaxed calm again. Before he reached the group, he turned to his best friend.

"You okay, Frank?", whispered the son of Hades softly, checking for injuries.

"I—I was a _dog_. A giant dog. And now I'm not. And I just... ripped a giant lion apart..."

"Nemean lion", nodded Nico amused. "And you were a hellhound. It's called shapeshifting. Like with werewolves and stuff, just that you most likely can shift into any animal you can think of."

And he lost Frank again. The son of Mars looked in total awe as he contemplated that. The perfect moment to pay attention to the girls again. Three of those were currently glaring at him.

"What are you doing here, fratellino?", asked Bianca harshly, a disapproving look on her face.

"And bringing my newbie brother with you!", added Clarisse irritated.

"Boys have no business on this quest", spat Zoe angered.

"...Yeah, I could have as well let those skeletons and the Nemean lion kill you, don't thank me all at once", muttered Nico, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm here because _we_ are accused of stealing that stupid Lightning Bolt. And because I don't know these people, so I will not leave you alone, Bianca. Now, you can either get your act together and accept that Frank and I are here to help, or we can keep following you in the shadows as we did so far."

Quite literally, actually. While Nico wasn't as good at shadow-traveling as Bianca, he was still capable enough of carrying himself and Frank through them, following the unique signature of his big sister's soul. The four girls exchanged looks while Nico decided to check on the passed-out satyr. He knew the outcome of this already. If they were even half-way clever, they'd let him help.

/break\

By the time they reached San Francisco, Nico had learned quite a bit about his new comrades.

Zoe was a bitter, man-hating bitch. But she was a good fighter and loyal friend to her huntresses, to which Bianca belonged now too. Nico knew the older girl would take care of his sister.

Grover was fun. He wasn't brave or a fighter, yet he was still here to help. Nico liked that kind of courage. Apparently, he had also been the one to bring Annabeth and Luke to camp years ago.

Clarisse was awesome and kick-ass. She fought tooth and nail and he got why Luke had claimed her to be camp's biggest hero. She was loud, harsh and not girly. Which was good, because Nico didn't like girly girls, they annoyed him and reminded him of the brainless cheerleaders who tried to get him to date them. That aside, she was taking responsibility for Frank, as his new cabin-head (Frank all the while was still trying to get used to the idea of having demigodly half-siblings).

Annabeth was annoying and arrogant. Apparently, this was her first quest and she had been dying to go on one for years. She kept babbling on about architecture which had reached its peak when they were on the Hoover Dam, which turned out to be one of her favorites. Nico liked rambling like the next nerd, but please, about something with consistence, like _Star Wars_.

"My father lives here", whispered Annabeth as they all sat together that evening.

They were camping for the night, resting before the supposedly big fight. Frank and Grover were contently munching smores, while Zoe was polishing her arrows. Bianca, Annabeth and Clarisse were talking. Nico kept to the shadows and observed. It was his greatest skill, watching others and analyzing them. This way, he knew who he was forced to rely on.

"And why aren't you living with him?", asked Bianca kindly, resting a hand on Annabeth's knee.

Annabeth blinked owlishly at the beautiful Italian girl. She was so tender, a real big sister type. Somehow, she reminded Annabeth a lot of Thalia, which send a pang of longing and sadness through her. It was not hard to feel comforted by the daughter of Hades.

"He's married to a mortal and they have two sons. They... don't need me", muttered Annabeth. "I don't fit into their world. But it's fine. I have a new family now..."

Nico's eyes softened a little as he watched her. He couldn't picture abandoning his mother and siblings, or being abandoned by them. She was stronger than he had given her credit for.

"Family doesn't have to be blood. Those who love you, they are your family", said Nico softly.

"Yeah. Like me and Nico. We're brothers, even though we aren't", agreed Frank with a grin.

/break\

The titan whose curse was in question was Atlas. Nico disliked it a lot. The fight was harsh, Atlas had minions with him, more than just the stupid manticore. And they needed Artemis' help. Phoebe, the huntress that had been abducted, Bianca's best friend, she was out cold after having been forced to carry the weight of the world until Artemis had taken over for her huntress.

"Together we can do this", called Bianca out as she locked eyes with Nico.

Together they could do anything. Nico's face hardened as he joined his sister. Together, they took the weight of the world onto their shoulders to give Artemis the chance to help. It was an unbearable pain to carry this kind of weight and he wished he could actively help the fight – he was forced to watch helplessly how Zoe died at the hands of her father Atlas. But Frank intuitively used his shapeshifting and Annabeth and Clarisse were strong fighters. Grover all the while was tending to Phoebe, feeding her nectar and ambrosia to get her back on track.

The weight became more and more and Nico felt like this was it. They had gone through so much with this quest. Had visited the Junk Yard of the gods, encountered Aphrodite (who had promised him a _big surprise_ in his future. He was not looking forward to it), followed a lead on Pan (who apparently was missing and Grover's mission to find him – that earned the satyr some of Nico's respect). Nico was thirteen, he was not ready to die here, that was the last thing on his mind.

/break\

"You know, this is the second time this week that you're here. I feel flattered."

Again, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the grinning son of Apollo. "Hello, Will."

"I like your new look, son of Hades", commented the blonde before turning away. "Oh, you're going to be fine, by the way. Your sister too. But you got quite some visitors waiting for you."

Nico frowned confused and turned his head some. In the bed next to his was Bianca, out cold. The weight of the world must have knocked them out. He blinked surprised when he saw that aside from the long, black curls, there were two stark-white strands framing her face. At Bianca's bed sat Phoebe, her arm in a cast and a bandage around her head. The huntress looked at Nico briefly.

"Don't look so startled. You look the same", commented Phoebe with a small grin.

Lifting a hand, he grabbed for his own hair and pulled so he could see that yes, he had a white strand too. Muttered to himself, he turned back to the two girls. Phoebe looked worried as she stared down at Bianca. He knew she cared. They were best friends.

"Promise me you'll protect her", whispered Nico, his voice tight. "Promise me she'll be safe."

She looked at him surprised, but nodded. Before Nico had another chance to say something, people burst into the room. Frank, Annabeth, Clarisse, Grover, Ethan, Alabaster and even Luke. He blinked surprised as his and Bianca's beds were suddenly surrounded by the teenagers.

"Don't dare start rambling all at once now!", stated Will firmly before they could open their mouths. "Or I'll throw you all out of the infirmary again. Hushed voices. Not too much. They need rest."

"Hey, how are you feeling?", asked Frank softly, sitting down next to Nico.

"Like death warmed over", groaned Nico and froze. "Pun not intended."

"You got guts, man", grinned Alabaster amused. "Sneaking out like that."

"You _are_ in trouble for that", nodded Luke gravely, glaring at him. "But your life is not in danger anymore. Lady Artemis returned the Lightning Bolt and the Helmet of Darkness. She convinced Lord Zeus that he owes you enough gratitude to let you live."

"Yay me", muttered Nico with a deadpan.

"Be grateful, brat", huffed Annabeth with a glare. "We... really thought you'd die. Don't do that."

"But you did good, punk", grunted Clarisse with a grin, ruffling Nico's hair.

/break\

It was three days later that the di Angelos got released from the infirmary (Will was _stubborn_ when it came to that and not even his older brothers Lee and Michael argued with him on his orders). Nico's heart was heavy. Especially the last three days of basically only having Bianca for company made him realize how important his big sister was to him. But the hunt would leave camp now. The demigods stood there, in a half-circle, to bide the huntresses goodbye. Chiron and Luke in the center, together with Nico – because he had a personal goodbye to say. Chiron was shaking hands with Lady Artemis while Nico faced Bianca. She looked amazing in her camouflage gown, with the green sash with a silver half-moon on it, a thin, silver tiara on her head. After she had led the quest to save a huntress and the goddess of the hunt, after carrying the weight of the world for Lady Artemis, the huntresses had all agreed to make her the new head huntress, after Zoe's death.

"I will miss you, baby brother", whispered Bianca as she pulled him into a tight hug.

He had been bitter about her decision to join the hunt at first, but seeing her during this quest, with Zoe, the camaraderie between the girls. And during their stay in the infirmary, Bianca and Nico had discussed it thoroughly. Why Bianca had done it, that she feared death and obeyed their stepmother's request. That she would still watch over him and that they would see each other again.

"This isn't goodbye", whispered Nico back, fingers clawed into her dress.

His heart still felt heavy when Bianca followed Lady Artemis, with Phoebe, Celyn, Naomi and the other huntresses hot at their heels. A heavy hand clasped down on his shoulder and he turned to look at Frank. His best friend offered him a small grin. While Nico had been stuck in the infirmary, he had apparently gotten used to the Ares Cabin – not to Clarisse's harsh training though. Another hand came to rest on Nico's other shoulder and he turned to look at Luke briefly.

"Your big sister may have left, but you got a whole cabin of new siblings now", stated the son of Hermes softly. "And I'm responsible for you now. That means no stunts like that again. No running off without another word again, even if it made you a hero."

"A hero?", asked Nico stunned and stared wide-eyed at Luke.

He followed Luke toward the Hermes Cabin as the gathered demigods dissolved. "Of course. You apparently crushed an army of skeletons and helped saving a goddess. Clarisse is praising you a lot and her praise means something around here. I wonder what you did to impress her."

"No idea", muttered Nico confused and frowned.

Sure, the two of them had fought well together and perhaps they had bonded a little during their trip, but he blamed Frank for this. Clarisse had taken to her new younger brother and apparently he had told her a lot about Nico. She also appreciated how he cared for Frank.

"This is your bunk", said Luke, motioning to the one he had previously spend half a night in.

Nodding briefly, Nico collapsed on the bed. He was still exhausted from the quest. Running a hand through his hair, he grinned. The white strand would forever connect him to his sister.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Again, for those who were confused about me 'skipping' the Sea of Monsters - the quest that introduced us to the godly world was the Lightning Thief and the quest that introduced us to the di Angelos was the Titan's Curse, so of course it had to be a bit of a mix of those two as a beginning. Also, with Bianca and Nico around, with Percy hiding in the underworld, things changed and so did the actions of the titans and their army. I ellipsed a lot on the quest here, I know. But it's mainly the Titan's Curse all over, just that it was triggered by the theft. And I didn't feel that lengthy scenes that would have been repetitions of the book were necessary. I'm assuming everyone read the book so it should be enough to mention that they were on Hoover Dam and through the junk yard (obviously Bianca didn't die. After all, the only reason she did was because she found the Hades figurine, took it and triggered the automaton. Nico already owns the figurine and Nico was there, so no activating the automaton, thus no death)<em>

_The next chapter will have the poisoning of Thalia's tree, triggering the Sea of Monsters quest. Whiiich means that Leo and Percy will arrive at Camp Half-Blood! Next chapter will also show how well Nico settled at camp over the by then past year!_


	8. First Impressions Count the Most

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 7: First Impressions Count the Most_

"Guys. You should come. And... uhm, get dressed. It's serious."

Nico frowned as he looked up from his cards to glare at Chris. The son of Hermes stood in the doorway of the Hermes Cabin, staring at them mildly uncomfortable. Nico, Travis, Connor, Ethan and Alabaster were sitting in a circle, all in different states of being undressed. It was Strip-Poker Saturday, after all. But somehow, those hazel eyes looked rather serious and concerned.

"Okay, I'll bite. What exploded this time?", asked Nico as he grabbed his shirt.

Last week, it had been Jake's and Nyssa's attempts at fixing Festus the giant-ass metal dragon that Silena and Charles had found in the woods. Boom, their cabin was half-way gone. They knew better than to try again. Nico shook his head some. One year at this camp and he was already used to things exploding, he knew the it-couples around, he even participated in gossip. It was nice, really. He had never really tried to blend in at his old boarding school because of all the secrets – his parentage, the fact that he wasn't supposed to be alive and all of that.

"It's Thalia's tree. It's been poisoned", answered Chris after a moment.

Travis and Connor behind Nico stumbled a little. They had never met Thalia either – no one had, aside from Luke and Annabeth and crap, how were _they_ taking the news? Were they alright? Thalia was a daughter of Zeus, aka Zeus not keeping it in his pants even though the Three Brothers had an oath. She had been traveling with Luke and Annabeth, they had been close. Really close. If Nico had to guess, she had been more to Luke than just 'a friend'. He'd say she was his first love. And then she nearly died and got turned into a giant pine-tree. Great parenting there, Zeus. The six friends arrived at the tree to find Luke sitting there, leaning against the bark, head hung low.

"Hey, how are you doing?", asked Ethan unusually soft as he approached his best friend.

"What sick bastard would do this?", countered Luke hollowly. "Sure, the guys who are responsible for stealing the Helmet and the Bolt last year, the ones wrecking havok the past months, but... Thalia never did anything to them, did she? Why would anyone..."

"To weaken camp", interrupted Alabaster, frown on his face and hand resting against the bark. "Her magic is what protects camp boarders. Once the tree dies, the magic will die with it."

Nico glared and elbowed the other boy hard in the ribs. The brunette winced and realized what he had just said, his green eyes comically wide. When the tree died. When _Thalia_ died.

"Well, means we just gotta save the tree before it comes to that", said Nico firmly. "Right?"

Luke looked up and Nico was pretty sure the older boy had been crying, his eyes were slightly red and Nico couldn't hold it against him, because if this were someone he held dear, he'd be bailing his eyes out too. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Neeks. We're going to save her."

"Don't call me Neeks, Lucas", grunted Nico with a disgusted face and wiggled his nose.

/break\

Bianca was sitting at a stream of ice-cold water, watching her reflexion thoughtfully when the IM call connected and suddenly, she was staring at a face so much like her own, with the same intense, dark eyes, high cheekbones, messy, black curls and the white strands hanging into his face.

"Nico", whispered Bianca, smiling a little. "Hey. Is it Sunday already?"

"Huh? Oh. No, Saturday", grunted Nico and shook his head, frown etched onto his face.

Bianca mirrored his expression. "What's wrong, fratellino?"

"It's that tree. Thalia's tree. The giant pine-tree, you know?", started Nico, running one hand absentmindedly through his hair. "It's been poisoned. But, well, it's connected to the camp-boarders. If it dies, we're pretty much left defenseless. That aside, she was a good friend of Annie and Luke."

Bianca's face fell a little. She was still in contact with Annabeth, trying to convince the blonde to join the hunt. She also knew that Annabeth was a good friend of Nico's. It must have been bad enough to watch a friend being turned into a tree, but now watching them slowly die as that...?

"Now they're trying to pick a quest. Well, Clarisse got it", muttered Nico, glaring a little. "Full out with prophecy and all that jazz. Wanted to bold off right away. But that's ridiculous. You don't go around taking on quests on your own. So the cabin-heads and Chiron are locked into the Big House, discussing who should take on this quest. It's like the most important quest we had since the whole lightning and helmet thing last year, you know? And I've been on a couple quests since then too. I want to go on that quest. Besides, one line of the prophecy said 'You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone' and hello, Ghost Prince over here! But Luke said it was his responsibility. She was his friend, he'd set this straight. Annabeth says the same and Luke is being all protective over her, not wanting her to attend because he's already risking Thalia here. And Clarisse is just mainly a pain in the ass because she wants to go alone. Frank and I try to convince her to take us with her, but she wants us to stay here, as her second-in-commands and all that shit."

Frank was the second-in-command of the Ares Cabin, Nico had already told her that before, all proud, bright eyes and stuff. It was endearing. And Nico, he had taken on a lot of quests over the last year, following leads on what the rebels were doing, helping out and saving demigods all over. He had become the biggest hero of Camp Half-Blood, next to Clarisse. Which Bianca had told Artemis and the others all proud, bright eyes and stuff. So Clarisse most likely wanted him at camp in case they failed and the boarders went down. Camp needed someone ready to defend them. Bianca could see it in Nico's face that he _understood_ this reasoning too. That didn't change that he didn't do well with sitting around and doing nothing.

"The cabin-heads have been deciding these kind of things long before you joined camp. They know what they're doing", assured Bianca softly. "I'm sure it will be fine, even if you can't attend."

"I know", sighed Nico in defeat. "I know the enemy is probably going to wait for the moment that the walls go down and they can attack and I don't like the idea of camp laying unprotected either. That really doesn't change that I want to be _there_. I want to help. I've been on every big quest with Clarisse since last year and it doesn't sit right with me to have her waltz out there on her own. And Luke hasn't been attending quests in like forever, because he's full-on the leader of camp by now and I don't really know if _he_ will be alright, but he's like a big brother to me, you know?"

Bianca nodded, soft smile on her lips. She did know. Luke listened to him and protected him, had taken him under his wing when Bianca had left and Bianca would be eternally grateful to Luke for that. It pained her to see Nico this concerned, but it also made her feel relieved, because it meant Nico wasn't illusioned about the situation, he knew how dire it really was. She just hoped they'd be alright. If the camp's protection weakened, her brother and his friends were in danger. So as the call disconnected, she made her way back to their camp-side. Bianca held her head high and proud – she never cowered, especially not when she wanted something because she knew it would seem as a sign of weakness. Demanding was more effective than begging – as she entered the tent of her lady. Artemis looked unusually troubled as she sat hunched over a map.

"I have a request", stated the daughter of Hades and bowed just a little. "I want to take Phoebe and go to the Sea of Monsters. She is the best tracker there is, if anyone can find the golden fleece-"

"Do not be foolish though", interrupted Artemis, not looking up. "The sea is dangerous."

"What? But...", stammered Bianca, surprised.

"Don't assume I'm not aware of what is happening. The poisoning of my half-sister caused quite the ruckus on Olympus", replied Artemis, locking eyes with Bianca. "This pending war, I am aware that the little heroes Chiron trains are our most valuable asset. And I am aware of how much you worry about your little brother. I'll allow it, for now. Take Phoebe with you and go."

/break\

Hades took a moment to stand leaning against the rail, watching. Percy, Leo, Tyson, Melinoe and Makaria were playing hide and seek with three more than annoyed Furies. Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone looked ready to tear the kids apart and eat them alive. Percy giggled from where he was hiding behind one of the beautiful gem-trees of Persephone's.

"Tyson, I think it's time you return to the forges. Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, I believe you have other duties. The same goes for you, my darling daughters", interrupted Hades after a moment. "I need to talk to my boys. Perseus, Leonardo, come with me for a walk."

Leo wiggled his nose, as he always did when Hades called him _that_. He sometimes wondered if he wouldn't prefer for Hades to still call him a pet instead, because honestly, only his abuela ever called him that and only if she was angry with him too. Hades had leveled a glare at him the first time he had protested to being called by his full first name and the god had stated that Leo should be proud and stand true to his name's meaning – brave as a lion. Percy had agreed, with a teasing grin, but Leo suspected that it was just the joy of not being the only one bugged by Hades.

"What's up, papá?", asked Percy softly, shifting from one leg to the other.

Leo guessed that the son of Poseidon assumed they were being called out on their latest prank. Involving pink hair-dye and Olethros' shampoo. But Hades looked too serious for that (truth was, Hades had laughed the loudest when Olethros had shown up with pink hair and wings).

"Camp Half-Blood, as the Moirai already taught you, is protected by magical borders. Those are held together by a very special tree. A tree that used to be a demigod, just like you", started Hades. "This tree had been poisoned by one of my father's minions. Now the demigods have to find the golden fleece to cure the tree. To do so, they have to sail into the Sea of Monsters, the most vicious part of your father's realm, Perseus. No demigod since the Argonauts has ever come out alive."

"Sounds thrilling", muttered Leo beneath his breath, grabbing Percy's hand out of reflex.

"My children will attempt to find the fleece there", continued Hades, not minding the son of Hephaestus. "But those seas are too dangerous. I want you to go and help them, Perseus. If anyone can steer a ship through it, it's a son of Poseidon. I want you to pack your things and by noon, I want you on your way to Camp Half-Blood. It's time you meet my children."

Percy's eyes were so wide, Leo feared they'd fall out. "I—I... Really? Okay. Sure. Yes. Uhm..."

"Yes, he can come with you", sighed Hades, motioning for Leo. "Why else do you think I wanted him here now too? I know it's hard to separate the two of you. And he may be helpful."

The two teens high-fived and hugged, broad grins on their faces. They were getting out of here. Out to see the world. To attend a quest. Years of training would finally be paying off. They'd get to prove themselves, not just to the gods of the underworld, but also to a whole new group. Other demigods. A whole camp of them. And among them, Percy's fiance.

"Oh my dads, what am I supposed to wear?!", asked Percy wide-eyed, staring at Leo frantically.

And that was when Hades decided to hastily leave the party, because there were just things he did not like participating in. Leo all the while grinned broadly and tugged Percy along to his chambers. This was like the first impression Percy would leave on the guy he was most likely to spend the rest of eternity with – it had to be good. Percy felt his hands starting to sweat nervously.

"You, pack what you _need_ for some tree-saving quest. I'll raid your closet", declared Leo.

Percy nodded numbly and went about. There was his armor, the black leathered one for his right arm, reaching from his knuckles up to his shoulder. He so needed that. The one for his left arm was shorter, only covering up to his elbow. Though that one turned into a Stygian-iron shield with a skull-motive, thanks to Tyson and Leo. Riptide, obviously. He'd need his sword.

"Okay. Done. I also packed clothes worth for like a couple days", stated Leo.

"How do you do that so fast?", asked Percy dumbfounded as he turned around.

"Magic, baby", grinned the Latino. "Now strip down and let your fairy godmother do the rest!"

"How about you let his mother help some too?", interrupted Persephone amused as she entered.

Percy turned grateful eyes to his mamma as he was down to his boxers and fighting with the impossibly tight black leather-pants Leo had gotten out for him. The Spring Goddess offered him as she looked at the equally tight dress-shirt that Leo was holding up. She deadpanned.

"It's nice to look at, but try to think of something that is practical for fighting too", argued Persephone and turned to Percy's wardrobe. "There. This is nice. Oh, and this one too."

A blue turtleneck without sleeves. Definitely better for using his arms and especially so considering his armor. It did hug his frame nicely too and if he bend the right way, it slid up just to reveal enough of his stomach to tease. He blushed brightly. Persephone helped him into the black leather vest that was loosely tied with a cord in front, silver embroidery lining it. Last but not least Percy's favorite boots that reached his knees, the ones with the steal-caps for better digging into the ground. Persephone smiled as she reached for his brush and started combing his hair tenderly. Leo had sneaked out at this point to get his own stuff packed. Percy stared at his reflexion, clearly pleased. His shoulder-long black hair fell perfectly straight, the fringes dyed dark blue.

"I really hope I'll leave a good impression on him", whispered Percy concerned.

"Honey, if he doesn't like you, he's not worth the trouble", stated Persephone, kissing his forehead.

/break\

It was exactly twelve o'clock as Percy and Leo reached New York through a secret entrance to the underworld after Charon had brought them this far. Tyson and the gods had all wished them good luck and there had been an awful lot of hugging, which hadn't helped their nerves. Percy took a deep breath as he found himself back in New York, for the first time in eight years.

"Mind if we take a detour?", asked the son of Poseidon, grabbing Leo's hand tightly.

Ascalaphus cooed curiously and turned his head in that weird way only owls could and if Leo could, he would mirror the gesture. They had agreed to take the bird with them, because in case Leo and Percy would be separated, the black barn-owl could track either down and deliver messages between them. The Latino obediently let Percy tug him along until they reached an apartment building. By the looks of it, Percy hadn't just randomly chosen to go here. They just stood there and waited and if not for the serious look in those sea-green eyes and the thin line of Percy's lips, Leo would have complained and asked what they were doing here. He felt as though he just had to trust Percy on this one and keep waiting, whatever they were waiting for. A beautiful brunette woman with long curls and kind, azure-blue eyes exited the building after about twenty minutes, a smile on her lips that reminded Leo a lot of Percy. She was holding a little girl by the hand and the girl's other hand was being held by a man with salt-and-pepper hair. The adults were laughing as they guided their daughter outside of the building. Leo watched Percy's reaction confused, until it dawned on him. Percy used to live in New York, before he had gone to the underworld. This woman, the woman with Percy's smile... she must be his mother. The woman who had married a reeking, abusive bastard to cover Percy's godly blood and its scent. The woman Percy hadn't seen in eight years, the woman Percy couldn't even _talk_ about without teary eyes, filled with regret. Regret because he blamed _himself_ for her being stuck in that horrible marriage; Percy had told him so once.

"Come now, Sally. We'll be late to the party", laughed the man, looking lovingly at the woman.

Percy choked on a sob as he watched the little family. A million and one thoughts racing through his head as he watched how happy his mother was with this man and this child. Something heavy settled in his stomach and it twisted and turned, making thinking and breathing hard as his jaw clenched tightly and something odd and new took over him. Something strong and primal. Hatred.

He lowered his eyes, clenching them shut for as long as he thought it would take the family to leave. He couldn't keep looking at them, looking at how happy his mother was. She hadn't been able to be happy while he had been around. She had been married to a _monster_ because of him, had suffered for so long all because of him. It was his fault that she had to wait to be happy for so long. If he would have been a normal child, that wouldn't have had happened. He had made her life hell by being her son, had denied her the chance of a normal, happy family. It was his fault.

"Ouch", winced Percy as he got hit upside the head, then turning to a glaring Latino.

"Don't give me that crappy look, Perce", warned the son of Hephaestus unimpressed. "I _know_ what happened with your mom and your old stepfather. It wasn't your fault, so stop looking like a guilty puppy who carries the weight of the world. Everybody is responsible for their own happiness and if she seriously had to lose _you_ to be happy, then she's the one who did something wrong in her life."

Percy blinked a couple of times at Leo, but before he had the chance to say anything mushy in return, or argue with him, they got attacked by a giant, horned bull-man and all hell broke loose. Percy hastily got Riptide out and Leo had a fireball summoned in his hand within a second. The Latino fired, using it to herd the beast out of harm's way. Away from the mortals. Percy went in for the kill, but fighting an actual monster was rather different from fighting Styx or Nemesis in training was something else entirely and before he could cut the Minotaur's head off in a clean slice, the beast got quite a few well-placed punches in on both Percy and Leo. But in the end, only a heap of ash remained as the monster collapsed in itself. Percy and Leo were panting hard as they locked eyes, the encounter with Sally Jackson already nearly forgotten as Percy looked at his little brother. What good was hating himself for the past if it distracted him from the now and thus interfered with his future? Gathering himself, he wrapped one arm around Leo's waist. The Latino had hit the ground earlier after jumping the Minotaur and apparently, his ankle hadn't quite enjoyed the impact.

Together, the two of them made their way, slowly and on foot. The closer they got to Camp Half-Blood, the antsier they both grew. Before they reached it, they had to fight off another couple of minor monsters and Percy started to realize _why_ he had been hidden in the underworld. It was like he had a blinking set of letters saying SNACK HERE floating over his head.

And reaching camp didn't exactly feel like safety either. There was a buzz in the air, filled with nervousness and agitation, like they were expecting an attack. Like they were expecting Percy and Leo to be part of that attack. Then again, a couple of strangers stumbling into their home, it probably didn't exactly look good now, did it? Percy squinted his eyes a little as more and more demigods gathered around them. At first, it had only been that tall Asian son of Ares and a dark-haired son of Hephaestus who had looked quite startled before calling out to the others. More demigods came and Percy could instinctively tell whose children they were. The flickering of their auras was intense. The Asian had that angry, dark-red light surrounding him, the one Percy associated with Ares. While the other guard had the same rich, rusty brown as Leo's aura. Percy had studied life-threads of demigods, had taught himself to distrinct between parentage. But the aura of a life-thread was so much calmer and smaller, the real aura of a demigod was stronger. Far stronger.

"Who are you?", asked a blonde son of Hermes – the leader apparently, judging by his posture.

He was flanked on the left by a daughter of Ares with a red bandana around her head, long, brown hair waving in the wind, a spear in one hand and a nasty glare on her face. On his other side was... was... Percy gulped, feeling all words fleeting his mind. The son of Hades. Tall, with broad shoulders and olive-skin, high cheekbones, dark curls, fascinating white strands in them. His aura was like Hades', the same black flicker of pure power. Life and death, pulsing, surging. The very first familiar thing in this to Percy foreign world and it seemed to call out to him. All this sunlight, all the monsters. He instinctively sought out the safety he knew, the safety of the underworld.

More demigods came forth and Percy started to feel dizzy. The aura of a living demigod was strong, but these were more than twenty demigods, all their pulsing energy assaulting Percy's senses, he didn't know where to look anymore, what to focus on. And then he collapsed face-first.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Like any respectable author, I live off the pain of my readers - so suffer a mean cliffhanger. xD No, seriously though, the entire next chapter will solemnly focus on Percy's and Nico's first conversations, interactions and impressions of each other. I didn't want to cramp what are important feelings into a short passage, so that stuff gets an entire chapter.<br>_

_And before you hate on Sally for being happy - she thinks Percy is dead. The most logical conclusion. Gabe was a gruesome sight to find and Sally assumed a monster had broken into the apartment and eaten Percy, ya know, the monster-thing to do._

_On another note, as I already announced in my journal on DA, where I ramble about my fics, I plan on expanding this story. Originally, it was only supposed to cover "Sea of Monsters" and how they get together, but I really enjoy writing this twist, so I want it to span over the entire Titan War._


	9. A Long-Awaited Meeting

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 8: A Long-Awaited Meeting_

After Nico, Chris and Frank had gotten caught sitting under the window of the Big House and listening in on the cabin-head meeting, Chris and Frank got send off to guard-duty at the camp-boarders with Jake and Michael. They had more guards these days, out of obvious reasons. They feared a traitor would use their distractedness to sneak in. Or the culprit would sneak out. Nico all the while got the brunt force of Luke's disappointed-dad-look. It was annoying not being a cabin-head, after all Luke was their leader, the leader of camp, while in a way, all the cabin-heads were his lieutenants. And Clarisse and Nico were his generals, the two greatest heroes their camp had. Clarisse was the cabin-head of Ares Cabin, Luke was the cabin-head of Hermes Cabin. After the meetings, Clarisse would normally give Frank and Nico the brief summary of it. Right now, he received a more detailed version from both Clarisse and Luke. At least until they could hear Frank yelling for backup. The trio exchanged a tense look before they ran up to the entrance of camp, Clarisse gripping Maimer hard, Nico's hand was resting on the hilt of Nightmare, ready to fight.

"Who are you?", called Luke out as they saw the two intruders.

Two boys, holding onto each other, both looking like they had been attacked. One was a small Latino with wild curls and almond eyes, his caramel-skin covered by a pair of tight, dark-brown leather-pants and a shoulder-free red shirt. The other however looked far more interesting to Nico. His skin was so pale, it looked nearly white, not in a sickly way though, but more in an ethereal way, glowing like this boy was something out of this world. His short, black hair had a cute blue fringe to it, framing a beautiful face. A face with eyes that seemed stunningly familiar to Nico in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on. Such a deep, green color like the sea in Venezia. Long legs were wrapped into tight black leather-pants, torso hidden by an azure-blue turtleneck, accented by a leather-vest that gave his upper body a nice v-shape. And then the pretty one just collapsed forward with a groan. Nico, who hadn't even realized that he had been walking toward them, together with Luke and Clarisse, found himself lunging forward and catching the unconscious boy before he could hit the ground. He twisted the limb body until he could comfortably cradle him to his chest, noting that he wasn't very heavy. The other boy, who had been leaning onto him for support, however landed on his butt with a little yelp and a curse.

"I'll ask one more time", warned Luke, arms crossed over his chest, focus a bit concerned on Nico.

"I'm Leo, he's Percy, we're demigods", answered the Latino hastily. "We were send here, we were told this is a camp for kids like us. But we, well, we ran into the Minotaur and nasty snake-legged ladies on our way here. Please... we just... We don't mean harm, honestly."

Luke regarded the boy one last time intensely, checking to see if the boy was lying. It was a gift of children of Hermes, seeing as their father was the god of trickery and thieving, lying was kind of in their realm too. They were great cheats (especially at poker) and they could see through a bluff or lie like living lie-detectors. Luke nodded once, sharply. Clarisse lowered her spear.

"Frank, bring him to the infirmary. Get both checked and do some explaining", ordered Luke.

Frank stared a little surprised and then he blushed as he helped the Latino up. "Uhm, hi. I'm Frank."

"Just carry him, please. With the size-different between you two, that would be the most awkward and wobbly hopping around possible", stated Nico and rolled his eyes. "Or do you mind, Leon?"

"Leo", corrected the Latino with a glare before turning to the Asian. "Uhm, I don't mind."

Nico spared one last glance at how awkward Frank was behaving as he lifted the light little impish boy up into his arms and followed the Italian toward the infirmary. The son of Hades however was soon too distracted by a soft groaning, catching his attention. The boy in his arms – Percy had it been – was burying his face in Nico's chest, eyes tightly squeezed shut.

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty", chuckled Nico. "Interesting entrance you had there."

"Oh gods, I made a total fool of myself", groaned Percy, hiding his face behind his hands. "He'll think I'm a total damsel in distress, fainting like a little girl..."

"He?", inquired Nico curiously.

"Yeah, I... there's this boy at this camp and I've been looking forward to meeting him and I wanted to leave a total badass first impression and all... and then I fainted like a princess", muttered Percy.

"If it's any consolation, _I_ think it was pretty badass, I mean your friend said you had a run-in with the Minotaur. Not every camper, much less a newbie, could take the Minotaur on, you know?", offered Nico, feeling bad for the other boy. "There's no shame in being exhausted."

"I wasn't exhausted", mumbled Percy upset. "It was... I was overwhelmed. All those demigods."

"Overwhelmed?", inquired Nico confused, looking down at the boy who was still hiding.

"I can... kinda see the aura of a person. And the aura of a demigod is far more intense than that of a mortal and I've never seen so many demigods in one place, all that power...", whispered the boy.

Nico frowned stunned at that. He had never met a demigod who could see the aura of a person. Bianca could sense it over a person's shadow and Nico could feel the souls, but the aura?

"Well, makes it all the more impressive", grinned Nico. "That's one amazing ability you have there, after all. And I can believe that so many of us must have been overwhelming. But you're unharmed? Physically speaking, I mean. Not injured? Because I'm bringing you to the infirmary, if you were wondering about the weirdo carrying you around. My name is Nico, by the way."

"Oh. Uhm. Yes. Sorry", mumbled Percy embarrassed. "My social skills could use a polishing... Nice to meet you, Nico. My name is Percy. And no, I'm not injured. Just some scrapes."

Sea-green eyes were revealed to Nico and now, so close-by, he found them even more enchanting. Those special, deep and emotional gems widened startled as the boy looked up at Nico.

"You're the son of Hades!", yelped Percy, one hastily rushed out word, really.

"Last time I checked, yes", nodded Nico, confused for a second, before it dawned on him. "You... can tell my parentage by my aura? How... does that work? If you don't mind explaining."

But the boy in his arms seemed too preoccupied with blushing and gaping to answer. So Nico just continued into the infirmary and placed Percy on one of the beds, cautiously. Will was next to him within the second, looking curious and poking Percy's nose.

"What did you do to the poor boy, di Angelo?", asked Will concerned. "I told you, not _everyone_ can handle your innuendos, stupid Hermes Cabin kids. He looks completely traumatized."

Percy was still fixated on Nico. Nico di Angelo. The son of Hades. His heart beat faster at that thought. This was his fiance. Well, at least he was handsome. And nice, what he had said earlier had been sweet and he had been willing to carry Percy to the infirmary to get him checked. Now Percy just needed to stop blushing and start behaving like a normal, human being again.

"Uhm, sorry", mumbled Percy and shook his head once. "Every aura is individual, a flickering glow that surrounds humans. But, uhm, the gods have _strong_ auras. Colorful ones. And they pass part of that down to their demigodly children. Like, there is a specific... color to it. I've been studying the different kinds and by now I'm pretty good at reading which color indicates what god. Like, yours is a silvery-shining, intense black. But his is a golden-yellow like the sun. Apollo. Right?"

"Will Solace, son of Apollo", nodded Will amused. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise", smiled Percy with a small nod. "My name is Percy Jackson."

"Leo Valdez over here and _I_ could use some Apollo-help!", called the Latino from the other bed.

"Yes, please", agreed Percy. "I'm _fine_. Really. But my brother got hurt."

While Will turned his attention to Leo, others arrived to check the newbies. First came Chiron, Luke and Clarisse. They were soon followed by other cabin-heads; Annabeth, Katie, Charles and Silena. It was rare for a new camper to come here all on their own. Suspicious, especially the timing. Even though Luke had deemed their words to be true, that didn't mean they couldn't be spies anyway.

"Hello, I'm Chiron, the trainer around here", introduced the centaur.

"Dude! You're half-horse!", observed Leo wide-eyed and in awe. "That's awesome!"

"Sorry. He... doesn't get out much", smiled Percy apologetically. "I'm Percy Jackson, that's my brother Leo Valdez. Thank you for having us. We're sorry to burst in without further notice."

"Yes, we'd like to know how you _knew_ about this camp", inquired Luke sternly.

Percy gave him a short once-over. Tall, muscular build, a prominent scar under one eye. He looked like a fighter, someone who already fought before. A leader, judging by his posture. A figure of authority even toward those around his own age, judging by the way the other teens stood behind him. A son of Hermes too. Interesting. Percy tilted his head curiously.

"My papá told me", replied Percy easily. "He send us here."

He knew he was being deliberately enigmatic. May they interpret his words however they deemed fit – most likely that his father was mortal and send them here. So his mother was a goddess. It worked in his favor for now, because he wasn't ready to reveal his parentage, neither the biological nor the adopted one, just yet. The son of Hermes was still staring intensely at him, reading him to see if he was lying. What Percy had said was the complete truth though. Percy smiled.

"Your... timing is just... questionable", threw the blonde girl in.

"Don't overthink things, daughter of Athena", countered Percy, still smiling.

She froze before stepping up to Nico. Tapping him on the shoulder, she leaned in to whisper something. He pulled her close enough to answer. Percy didn't like how close they stood.

"You... can tell whose child a demigod is by looking at their aura?", asked the girl surprised.

Percy nodded slowly. It was better to throw that out in the open now before Will would go around and gossip would start to spread. What was out should be put out fully to prevent misunderstandings. He still could see the doubt in their eyes.

"Son of Hermes", started Percy, pointing at the blonde leader. "Daughter of Ares, daughter of Demeter, daughter of Aphrodite, son of... oh. Leo! He's your brother!"

His finger was stuck on the broad, dark-skinned boy who had one arm wound around the gorgeous daughter of Aphrodite. The attention was finally diverted over to Leo. The Latino, who was in the middle of munching a piece of ambrosia, looked doe-eyed at the bulky demigod.

"Hi", stammered Leo shyly, wondering if he should say _it_ out loud.

It being his godly parent. He never really talked about it, because he wasn't sure how far Hephaestus even cared. If it even mattered. But apparently, the god took that decision from him, because in the next moment, a glowing, reddish-brown symbol of a hammer hovered above his head.

"Hello", replied the dark-skinned guy. "I'm Charles Beckendorf. The campers are divided by godly parentage, so I'll be your cabin-head from now on while you stay at camp."

Percy froze at that. But he had been looking forward to sharing a cabin with Nico!

"So, two newbies for Beckendorf then", grunted Clarisse, eying both.

"No", answered Percy and shook his head. "We're not that kind of brothers. We're foster brothers. My papà took Leo in after his mother died. We're not actually related."

"Mh, then who is your godly parent?", inquired Annabeth, cocking one eyebrow.

"It's not like any god ever dropped by and was all 'Percy, you're my son'. And I can't see my own aura", answered Percy, smoothly keeping the truth obscure. "Sorry if that's trouble."

"It's not, kiddo", chuckled Luke and reached out to ruffle his hair. "You'll come with me and Nico then. Hermes Cabin is for the homeless and unclaimed ones."

"And those whose parents didn't _get_ a cabin", muttered Nico beneath his breath.

Percy perked up at that. So he did get to stay with Nico. That sounded exciting. He wanted to get to know Nico a bit better before he'd tell the son of Hades _who_ exactly he was. Leo was already swinging his legs over the bed, eager to get out and explore. It had apparently only been strained, not broken. Percy was relieved by that. He too went to get off the bed.

"Well then, come. We'll show you where you'll be staying", offered Nico with a small smile.

Most other cabin-heads already left the infirmary again and Luke, Nico, Percy, Leo and Beckendorf were the last ones. Percy could feel Leo's doubtful eyes on him and as they were to part ways, Leo grabbed Percy's hand, tightly on their way through camp. The Latino opened his mouth and Percy knew exactly what he wanted to say, so he pulled Leo into a tight hug, ruffling his curls.

"I'm sorry", whispered Percy into his ear when he saw other Hephaestus-kids exiting the cabin, clearly curious. "You have all this family and I selfishly kept you to myself for years."

"Idiot", hiccuped Leo, fingers clawed into Percy's vest. "_You_ and Ty are the only family I need."

"Well, not anymore", countered Percy and took a deep breath as he pushed Leo off, holding him by the shoulders. "I'll always be your brother, but now I want you to go with them and meet your... other siblings. I'll be fine on my own. A dopo, mio fratellino." [trans: _See you later, little brother_]

"Yeah...", nodded Leo reluctantly. "Later. No rushing off and vanishing without me, you hear?"

Percy offered him a half-smile and a short wave as Leo followed Beckendorf inside. Nico stared at him in awe. This gorgeous creature could speak Italian? Had Nico somehow accidentally summoned the boy of his dreams with Lou's and Alabaster's magic last night, or what?

"Just a fair warning; the cabin is quite crowded. You'll have to either sleep on the floor or share a bed", warned Luke before they entered. "There are a lot of homeless demigods around."

Percy's face fell when they entered. More than half the demigods here weren't even kids of Hermes. But Percy already noticed that the cabins they had passed were only of the Olympian gods.

"You can totally share a bed with me, cutie", offered a cheekily grinning brunette.

"Back off, Cecil", warned Nico irritated and rested one hand on Percy's lower back. "Come."

A blush spread over Percy's cheeks as he was steered along. They were heading toward a bunk-bed, on the upper bunk were a son of Hecate and a son of Nemesis rather busy making out.

"Those are Alabaster and Ethan", introduced Nico. "Guys, this is Percy. He'll be staying with us for now, until he's claimed, or, well, more permanently. This is my bed, you can crash here. If... you want. I mean, Cec is kind of a perv and the floor is uncomfortable. Uhm. This is awkward, sorry."

An amused smile tugged on Percy's lips. "It's alright. Thank you very much. And I don't mind. My brothers and I often shared a bed. They tend to sneak into mine when they have nightmares."

"They?", inquired Nico curiously as he sat down on the bed, resting against the headboard.

"Leo and Tyson", nodded Percy slowly. "But Ty stayed at home. It's saver there for him. Can I...?"

Nico nodded hastily and scooted over. Percy sat down and turned toward the wall in awe. This wasn't just a bunk, it was Nico's home, Percy could feel it. There was a little shelf put up, held by the upper bunk, where Nico stored his clothes as well as a set of cards and a figurine of Hades. Nico tugged his Stygian-iron sword in between the laths of the upper bunk. There were a lot of pictures decorating the wall and Percy felt his eyes drawn to them, his curiosity picked.

"Those are Connor and Travis. They're currently... most likely pranking the Demeter Cabin", started Nico to explain, pointing at a photo of two nearly identical brunettes. "And that right there is my big sister, Bianca. She's... a huntress now. But the hunt occasionally visits, for a friendly game of Capture the Flag. Better known as: Them showing us boys we can't compete with them."

He snorted a little amused. Percy was in awe. Bianca was beautiful, with those long, dark curls, the black eyes and the kind smile. She stood together with a ginger girl in similar attire, most likely another huntress. Luke, Cecil, Ethan and Alabaster were on most other photos. And that blonde daughter of Athena. The head of Ares Cabin and the son of Ares who had carried Leo earlier too.

"Frank is my best friend", continued Nico his explanation. "We went to boarding school together before we came here. And Annie and Clarisse are, well, we had our first big quest with them. That's the kind of bond that's hard to break, you know? Well, you probably don't."

"No, I really don't", admitted Percy softly. "My brothers are the only other teens I ever met. I don't... spend a lot of time outside. Much less for quests. This, all of it, is quite exciting. Say, what is this Capture the Flag thing you mentioned? Some kind of game?"

"You'll learn tonight", grinned Nico. "Everyone is a little agitated about a pending quest, so we decided to take the edge off with a game. Don't worry, it's not dangerous. I'll protect you. Uhm, not saying that you need protection, I just mean, uh, I'll explain it to you and help you through and..."

"Wow, you are so freaking bad at this", commented a purple-haired punk girl from another bed.

"Thanks, Lou", grunted Nico with a glare and a blush. "Percy, Lou. Lou, Percy."

She looked a lot like her mother, which made Percy instantly like her. He offered her a smile as she waved lazily at him. But right now, Nico was far more interesting than getting to meet his aunts' children. They were sitting so close now. Percy took a moment to look at Nico, properly this time. The first time, he had been too busy fainting and the second time, there had been too many others demanding his attention. Nico had high cheekbones and a strong expression in his deep, dark eyes. They reminded him of Tartarus, like endless, dark pits that seemed to swallow every soul that dared to come close. He was wearing black jeans with holes in the knees and combat-boots similar to Percy's. And the apparently obligatory orange shirt that read _Camp Half-Blood_ in bold letters. The way it hugged his torso showed Percy what kind of abs were hidden beneath, the sleeves showing off the nicely trained arms. Nico was surely nice to look at, that much was obvious. Percy's eyes caught the snow-white strands hanging into Nico's face. Percy leaned forward, intrigued, not minding personal space at all as he grabbed the hair, feeling how soft it was.

"Is it a sibling-thing?", asked Percy curiously, pointing at a photo of Bianca.

"No", laughed Nico amused. "Well, maybe in a way, after all we never dyed them. We got them when we carried the world to save a goddess. Usual Monday morning, I guess."

Percy blinked astonished. Those kind of things sounded so surreal to him, like out of a fairy tale. Then again, if he was to tell Nico about his life, it would probably sound as surreal to Nico.

"Dude, just tell him you think he's pretty and be done with it", groaned a voice from above them and seconds later, a freckled face was hanging upside-down in front of them. "Seriously, this down-playing while bragging at the same time, it's a really cheap macho-move, man."

Percy blinked surprised and turned toward the blushing Italian. Oh. So Nico was trying to impress him? That was sweet. A small smile lit up Percy's face at that. What a cute thought.

"Do you?", asked the son of Poseidon curiously. "I mean, think that I'm pretty?"

"Fishing for compliments, huh?", asked Alabaster amused. "Or don't you own a mirror? Of course you're pretty, with those big eyes and the bow-shaped lips and all."

"You _are_ pretty", muttered Nico, rubbing his neck. "I mean, cute. Handsome, right?"

"You're awkward", giggled Percy amused and delighted. "Thank you."

"For being awkward?", asked Nico confused and made a face.

"For the compliment", smiled Percy and tilted his head. "I never got a compliment. Well, at least not from someone who wasn't my brother or otherwise my family. It feels... nice."

"You must have been living in a cave then", declared Alabaster. "Fair warning, the older guys around here are horny bastards and the girls are chasing after every cute guy too, so get used to the compliments. And other kind of attention. Or get a girlfriend-slash-boyfriend to defend your honor."

Nico groaned, annoyed that his friend was so set on embarrassing him. So he stood up and grabbed Percy's hand, pulling him along. The other boy yelped a little started, looking up at Nico.

"Come, let's get to the armory. We can pick a sword or something out for you", declared Nico, tugging a little on Percy's hand. "Get you all decked for the game later."

"Wait, we... need weapons? For a _game_?", asked Percy concerned. "So it's not like chess, huh?"

"You'll be surprised", laughed Nico amused.

Percy nodded slowly, fidgeting with Riptide. "But I already have a sword."

"Oh. Well, then... How about I show you around a little?", offered Nico nervously.

He really wanted to spend more time with this newbie. Something about Percy seemed so familiar.

"I'd really like that!", exclaimed Percy, offering a bright smile. "Thank you, Nico."

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: As announced in my DA journal, the plans for the story stand. Roughly. I do know where this is headed now, what with it covering the Titan War, but due to Rick never giving us many traitors (really, we only know Luke, Ethan and Chris), I'll be including some of my OCs. Not many and they won't take over the story, but with Percy and Nico living in the Hermes Cabin, there gotta be more upset children of minor gods aside from Ethan, Alabaster and Lou, otherwise the whole keeping-traitors-from-betraying-plot will look a little lousy, huh? ;)<br>_

Next chapter will feature Capture the Flag! As in, Percy being a badass, but not in the same way as he was in canon. ;) Also, the crew will be picked!


	10. Capture the Flag

PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades – The Rule of the Underworld

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; twisted version of PJatO

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, mpreg, arranged marriage, canon divergent, brief mentioning of child-abuse, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Frank/Hazel/Leo, Reyna/Annabeth, Luke/Octavian, Ethan/Alabaster, Jake/Will, Damian/Liam, Sirius/Aurora, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Shane/Lacy, Malcolm/Katie, Jason/Calypso, Nathan/Gwen, Dakota/Leila, Bryce/Drew, Hades/Persephone, Ares/Aphrodite, Zeus/Hera, Tempest/Blackjack

Percy Jackson Characters:

_Camp Half-Blood_: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Tyson, Ethan Nakamura, Alabaster C. Torrington, Lou Ellen, Butch Walker, Clovis Daver, Luke Castellan, Chris Rodriguez, Travis Stoll, Connor Stoll, Cecil Rogers, Lacy Hunnigan, Mitchell Logan, Drew Tanaka, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Jake Mason, Nyssa Black, Shane McNabb, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Clarisse la Rue, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Annabeth Chase, Malcolm Cage, Katie Gardner, Will Solace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Grover Underwood, Juniper, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack

_Hunters of Artemis_: Zoe Nightshade, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe Burge, Celyn Richards, Naomi Walters, Thalia Grace, Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, Piper McLean

_Camp Jupiter_: Bryce Lawrence, Octavian Simmons, Hazel Levesque, Jason Grace, Gwen Ryder, Nathan McIntosh, Dakota Elle, Leila Fisher, Tempest, Arion

Own (Greek) Demigods: Liam O'Riley (Hecate), Aurora Desrosiers (Hypnos), Sirius O'Rinn (Morpheus), Lilian Martin (Morpheus), Damian Sturm (Eris), Robyn Pryde (Hermes)

Godly Characters: Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, Hypnos, Morpheus, Horkos, Thanatos, Olethros, Hecate, Nemesis, Styx, Makaria, Melionoe, Charon, Atropos, Klotho, Lakhesis, Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Chiron, Dionysus, Artemis, Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hera, Zeus, Calypso, Ascalaphus, Zerberus

Summary: Poseidon knew about Gabe's abuse and he did not leave his son in the hands of this man. But he couldn't take Percy to the sea either, knowing his own wife would rather see the child dead than raise him herself. So he strikes a bargain with Hades – Hades would protect the child and in return, Percy would one day become the consort of one of Hades' hidden children, the di Angelos. Hades agrees and takes the boy in, raising him in the underworld.

When Percy turns thirteen, Hades sends him to Camp Half-Blood to aid Nico and Bianca on the quest in the Sea of Monsters. Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades, changes the history, mixing things up that were not supposed to be mixed up at this point in time. Like Romans, for example.

**Percy Jackson, Ambassador of Hades**

_The Rule of the Underworld_

_Chapter 9: Capture the Flag_

Leo was high on adrenaline. This whole day had been pumping him up and he knew that by tonight, he'd just collapse knocked out on his new bunk-bed. First the news of them leaving for Camp-Half-Blood, then the strange encounter with Percy's biological mother – seeing Percy so guilt-written and sad had broken Leo's heart – then the fight against the Minotaur, which he could still not fully grasp because they had _won_ and then camp itself. Frank was so _strong_ and so sweet, all stammering embarrassed while carrying Leo to the infirmary. But meeting his new siblings was hands down the most exciting thing that had happened to Leo ever since Tyson. Beckendorf was great and Nyssa and Jake had taken a liking to the 'cute imp' too and the others were all so nice too.

Right now, he was putting his adrenaline to good use, because they were in the middle of a game called Capture the Flag. Apparently, camp split up into two teams and each got a flag. He'd make his new siblings proud and protect their flag. The upside of this was that they were teaming up with the Hermes Cabin, which was where his Percy was staying.

"So, how is this Hermes Cabin situation?", asked Leo curiously, voice hushed.

The two of them were stuck as guards of their team's flag, together with Ethan Nakamura, who did not look interested in their conversation at all. Both knew it was because they were the new kids and the others didn't trust them to last long in a fight and search mission.

"I don't like that the Hermes Cabin is basically where all kids of the underworld are stored – children of Hecate, Nemesis, Hypnos, Morpheus, the son of Hades himself...", sighed Percy with an upset frown. "I thought this camp was for, well, all demigods. But it surely favors the children of the Olympians. Not that I mind too much, it feels kind of like home, they resemble their parents a lot and I even get to share a bed with Nico – because the cabin is so crowded!"

"You shouldn't take your boy to bed before the third date", teased Leo with a grin. "So, how _is_ Nico? I mean, did you get to talk to him already? Do we like him, or do we hate him?"

Percy smiled softly at that, nudging his brother. "You're a good brother. But we don't hate him. He's... very charming. And he thinks I'm _cute_! You know, it's kind of a bummer that we're stuck here. I'd really like to prove to him that I can do more than just faint..."

"You can't even guard a flag properly. Don't think you can prove yourself to Nico. Why do you even _want_ to? You don't know him", interrupted a new, annoyed voice. "I don't trust you two."

Leo and Percy yelped as suddenly, a blonde girl materialized in front of them after removing a blue Yankees cap from her head. The daughter of Athena. The one who had been standing entirely too close to Percy's man earlier. Percy frowned. What did the blonde want? Did she want Nico...? The blonde pulled out a sword and Percy's thoughts halted. He only then noticed the other two who must have come with the blonde – Clarisse and Frank. Leo and Percy exchanged a look.

"I'll be over there, helping out against the angry Ares kids", stated Leo. "You, take out blondie."

Percy nodded, smirking a little as he straightened his back. "Sorry, daughter of Athena, but Luke told me to protect this flag, so I can't let you take it with you. Fight me."

"I have a name", growled the blonde annoyed. "It's Annabeth. And don't be so cocky!"

Smiling a little, Percy uncapped his sword, revealing Riptide as he lunged for the blonde.

/break\

"If you don't stop pouting, I swear I will hit you hard, di Angelo", warned Luke irritated.

"I wanted to be with Percy. He's new at camp and you know the Ares and the Athena Cabin like to roughen the new kids up some", huffed Nico annoyed. "Percy is too sweet to be roughened up and I promised him I'd lead him through the game, help him out."

"Yeah, yeah, you're horny and want to get into his pants. What else is new?", teased Alabaster.

"I am not trying to get into his pants", hissed Nico, glaring at the brunette.

"Oh come on, how long has it been since you and Mitchell broke up?", snorted Alabaster, rolling his eyes. "Not counting that fling with Will, because... that was just _weird_."

"He has a nice ass and I mainly agreed to get him off my case", shrugged Nico casually. "Besides, this is different! I mean, he's a newbie and I just want to keep my promise and all, okay?"

Luke took a deep breath and whirled around. "Stop chatting, girls! Everyone at camp aside from Jake Mason knows that Nico and Will were only a ploy to get Jake jealous. And Jackson is perfectly fine because we left Ethan with him. Now get _moving_!"

He hit them both with the flag he was carrying. Nico offered him a sheepish grin and nodded. They managed to steal the flag from the other team and now, with other groups from their team distracting the opposing team, they were making their way back to their base. When they reached the vacancy where their flag was hidden, they were in for a surprise though. All three stumbled a little. Ethan and the two new kids were holding their stance against Clarisse, Frank and Annabeth – the three best fighters their camp had to offer. The six of them actually had quite the audience from both teams already. And they quite deserved it too. Ethan and Frank were stuck in a duel, nothing new or too exciting there. The interesting part were the new kids.

Leo was actually doing pretty well against Clarisse, which only pissed the daughter of Ares off even more and made her go harder against the little Latino. And then there were Percy and Annabeth. Their fight was more like a graceful dance. They were en-par. Percy's movement was like a river, flowing gracefully along. His power washed over Nico like the mighty waves of the ocean. It was just a normal sword-fight, but it was still the most enchanting thing Nico had ever seen.

"I swear, di Angelo, get your act together or I'll put that flag up your arse!", called Luke out.

Nico found himself ripped out of his thoughts, looking around startled. Due to Silena's charmspeak, most of their team was a drooling mess, while Lacy and Mitchell had teamed up against Alabaster. Luke was fighting off Malcolm, trying to protect their newly stolen flag. They were so close to their own base and Nico was getting distracted. Damn it. Ethan was taken out and Frank was ready to take the flag. Nico couldn't let that happen. He smirked as he came face to face with his best friend. Frank returned the smirk and their swords clashed. This was the kind of Capture the Flag that he loved. The unexpected ones with a twist. Fighting against Frank was a rare occasion, most of the time, Capture the Flag was his and Annabeth's outlet for their 'sibling rivalry', as Luke liked to phrase it (Nico preferred the method of putting zombies under Annabeth's bed and skeletons into her closet, but apparently others found that less funny than he did). But watching the newbie kicking Annabeth's ass was so much better – especially considering how hot the newbie looked while doing it. Truly enchanting. And there he was, once again distracted by Percy Jackson.

"Pay attention to me, mh?", suggested Frank as he knocked the hilt of his sword into Nico's spline.

Nico winced, breath knocked out of his breath. The ring of fire around their flag vanished as Leo went down – and wasn't that a new kind of Hephaestus-power right there? But this left two problems; One, the flag was unprotected, two, their team was completely taken on while Clarisse was now free from fighting and ready to take the flag and bail on them.

"No! Claire, you do not take that flag!", called Nico out, cursing beneath his breath.

"Niccoló, you do not call me that!", countered Clarisse with a glare.

Frank snickered a little. Between Frank being Canadian and Clarisse and her best friend Silena being French, the trio often talked in French. Frank and Silena had started calling Clarisse 'Claire', as a nickname, sometimes. Nico loved to use it to tease the brute. Percy took his attention off from Annabeth for a second as he twisted her arm so she went down onto the ground. The flag was unguarded and as it looked right now, Clarisse could take it and run off because everyone else was occupied. The other team had an opening to win. Percy wouldn't let that happen. Their team _needed_ to win. He needed to prove that he wasn't a faint-y, useless princess. He needed to prove he was strong. He needed to prove to Nico that he was worthy and equal to the Ghost King. Just before Annabeth could break free from the grip, Percy lifted his fingers to his lips to whistle a strange and creepy tune that send shivers through everyone on the clearing, including Mister D and Chiron. They had come when the game seemed to drag on longer than expected. Both were surprised to find everyone evenly matched, the new guys fitting right in and doing more than good. A loud bark tore through the woods as a giant, three-headed dog ran out of the shadows of the forest.

"Seriously, Nico? Bringing your pet into this? Awesome idea!", exclaimed Alabaster eagerly.

"Not my doing", stated Nico calmly, turning his head to stare at Percy. "_He_ whistled for Zerby."

Percy grinned and turned to the happy-looking dog. "Good boy. Protect the flag."

Clarisse froze up in front of Zerberus. The three-headed, gigantic monster growling down at her. The whole of camp found themselves paralyzed for a moment at the intruder. Summoning anything inside of camp-borders was hard, but summoning the guard of the underworld itself? Nico could probably do it, not that he had ever attempted to. But Percy was just standing there, grinning like a maniac as he twisted Annabeth's arm and disarmed her. Taking her sword, he turned to Clarisse, one sword in each hand as he challenged the daughter of Ares, smirking.

"H—How did you...", started Clarisse, spear pointing at Percy.

Percy tilted his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself properly. I'm Percy Jackson, the ambassador of Hades. My lord sends his regards. Now fight me, daughter of war."

At this point, weapons dropped everywhere. The game seemed nearly forgotten as Percy fought against Clarisse, in the shadow of Zerberus himself. Above Percy's head, as though it was trying to prove his words true, was a symbol glowing. A skull with ruby-glowing eyes. The symbol of Hades that had claimed Nico and Bianca when they had first entered the camp. For a moment, lead seemed to settle in Nico's gut as a horrifying thought crossed his mind – the cute boy he had been awkwardly flirting with early was his _brother_. But then he noticed. Ambassador, not son. Nico breathed out in relief. Not his brother then. But... what else could this boy be? As Percy fought against Clarisse, his sea-green eyes sparkled in excitement. Nico frowned. Those eyes that had seemed so familiar right from the start, now coupled with the notion of Percy having been send by Hades, it clicked. It literally fell into place in Nico's mind. Hades, that was where Nico had seen those eyes – in the palace of Hades, with the Moirai. His cute little Fate! The temp, the one Nico had convinced himself to be his personal guardian angel. Excitement bubbled in Nico's chest. It made perfect sense. After what Percy had said about his father sending him here, his mother must be a goddess – one of the Fates. A Moira was his mother, that was why he had been down there, that was why he could read auras. Because he was the demigod son of a Fate. And if Nico's mind hadn't been blown by that, it surely was when Maimer hit the ground and Clarisse found herself next to it, with two swords crossed over her neck, a victoriously grinning Percy leaning over them.

"All hail Percy Jackson, ambassador of Hades", called Chiron out loudly. "The blue team wins."

The statement tore them all of their haze, making them remember that they were in the middle of a game. Apparently not anymore, because Leo, who had been knocked out by Clarisse, had regained consciousness and grabbed the flag that was laying forgotten somewhere behind Luke. He had brought it back to the base and rammed it into the ground, grinning like a lunatic. The moment was ruined when Zerberus leaned down to lick square over Leo's and Percy's faces with two of his heads. The third one was turned to Nico, staring eagerly at the son of Hades.

"_Young prince! We haven't seen you in long. Little, blue master did good, yes? And little, red master too! You have to protect them, they're our precious pups_", declared the head turned to Nico.

Nico nodded numbly. Little masters? What was that supposed to mean? That Leo too had spend time in the underworld? He had a lot of questions. And apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"What the fuck is an ambassador?", asked Alabaster. "I mean, I know what an ambassador is, but how can you be the ambassador of a _god_? What does that mean?"

"How could you as a newbie beat Clarisse?", hissed Travis stunned.

"And how did he summon Zerberus?", added Connor surprised.

"All good questions", interrupted Chiron loudly and approached. "Questions that will be answered in the Big House, now. Percy, Leo. If you'd come with me and Mister D, please."

Leo and Percy exchanged a concerned look, grabbing each other's hands, holding tight and following the centaur. The other campers were left to their own devices and all too soon all aside from the Hermes Cabin, who started to gather around Nico. Within moments, Alabaster was climbing onto the by now laying Zerberus. Ethan glared concerned at his boyfriend. His glare re-directed at Alabaster's best friend Damian, not that the son of Eris minded. With mischievous, dark eyes did Damian climb after Alabaster. All too soon the whole Hermes Cabin was somehow leaning against the soft fur, patting a head or sitting on the beast's back. Cecil and Lou were whispering with Lily, a daughter of Morpheus. Knowing those three, they were up to no good.

"What now, Nico?", asked Luke, turning to his second-in-command. "He's an ambassador of your father. What's the meaning of this? Also... let's talk about the giant dog in the room."

"I don't know about you, but I'll go and spy on Chiron", shrugged Nico and turned.

He gave Zerberus a whistled signal to return to the underworld where he belonged, leaving the other members of Hermes Cabin with pouts and complains. He was aware that he was being followed by Luke and Ethan, but Liam came as a bit of a surprise. He was a younger brother of Alabaster, a son of Hecate. His magic was powerful, not quite as powerful as Alabaster's, but pretty close.

"He knows magic", stated Liam. "Not... proper magic. But... this thing with the aura, how he just summoned Zerberus. Something about that boy is off, because he's _not_ a child of the underworld."

"What do you mean?", asked Nico confused, turning toward Liam.

They were aware that most demigods in the Hermes Cabin were children of the underworld – Hecate, Nemesis, Hypnos, Morpheus, even Eris (though she never really stayed long at one place, but the underworld was where discord felt the most comfortable). Liam was sensitive to the heritage, the demigodly magic so to speak. To him, children of the underworld felt different from children of Olympus. He looked equally thoughtful and confused as he tried to answer.

"I don't know", admitted Liam frustrated, combing his fingers through his black, unruly hair. "He doesn't feel like one of us, but... weirdly enough, he also doesn't feel like he's from Olympus."

"Now you're not making any sense at all anymore, Liam", grunted Luke, patting his back.

"W—What are _you_ doing here?", hissed an irritated voice as the trio reached the Big House.

Clarisse, Frank and Annabeth were hiding beneath the living room window, the girls looking pissed and Frank looking like he had been forced to be here. Luke chuckled amused and crouched next to them, together with Nico and Liam. Everyone turned toward the son of Hecate in expectation and after a moment, Liam realized why. Grinning sheepishly, he used his magic to enhance the voices inside so they could hear them as though they were in the same room. The noises attracted other curious demigods all too soon. Nico grunted as he found himself stuck between Travis and Connor, both Stolls grinning mischievously at him, always in for a good eavesdropping.

"...Why wound uncle Hades send the two of you? A tinkerer and... an unclaimed one", drawled Mister D in a mocking voice. "And at times like these. Father would suspect something... else."

"Don't go around accusing Lord Hades of such things, not even lightly", growled Percy.

His voice was honest and serious and Nico found himself impressed that Percy would defend Hades in front of another god. It had always been easy for the Olympians to accuse his father of the dark deeds, just like it had been with the theft of the Master Bolt and it made Nico _so angry_.

"Now, now, calm your temper, both of you", chided Chiron in his soothing voice.

"You're right, sir", muttered Percy and turned toward Mister D. "I'm sorry, Lord Dionysus. I was out of line. But so were you. While Olympus is running around like a headless chicken, Lord Hades intends to aid help in this quest to save camp – to save the heroes that will save Olympus. If camp falls, the heroes will fall and without heroes, Olympus stands no chance."

Dionysus gritted his teeth at that. "Fine. So what kind of help can _you_ provide?"

"I can provide save passage through the Sea of Monsters. I'm here to attend the quest, together with my brother Leo here", stated Percy casually. "I know my way around navigation better than anyone and Leo is an expert when it comes to all kinds of engines. He'll be vital in case the ship gets damaged, which it will because let's face it, we're talking about the Sea of Monsters here."

"It was very generous of Lord Hades to send you then", started Chiron. "And something tells me that you also have a plan for... other crew members. Be aware that this is Clarisse la Rue's quest though. She received the prophecy, she is the leader. But camp had been divided by a fight for who gets to be part of her crew. If a god sends a request, I'm all ears to settle this."

"I wasn't just send to help camp. I was send to help Nico di Angelo. I'm his guardian", said Percy calmly. "I was send to make sure he succeeds in this quest. And... two more should suffice, because three may be a sacred number, yet there were six children of Kronos, six ancient first deities."

"Who?", asked Chiron, while all their secret listeners were growing antsy and curious.

"The son of Ares, Frank. He's though. And the cocky blonde", grinned Percy. "She fought better than I expected from a bookworm and she's passionate. The wisdom of Athena will be helpful. Both also seem dedicated to Nico and that's what I'm looking for, because _his_ safety is my priority."

"I am _not_ dedicated to you!", hissed Annabeth with a fierce glare directed at Nico. "You're an annoyance, di Angelo! No more than a little brat that puts skeletons in my closet!"

Nico returned the glare and stuck his tongue out at her in a childish but appropriate manner. While the two of them bickered like the annoying siblings everyone knew they were, Frank was panicking. Another important quest. What if he screwed up? But at least Clarisse would be there again.

"Very well. Then let's go and tell our not so secret audience", announced Chiron.

Everyone exchanged concerned looks and scattered hastily before the four inside could exit. Everyone aside from Nico, Frank, Clarisse and Annabeth. Luke was herding his own cabin back home to get changed and showered. Nico straightened his back as Percy approached him. Before he could open his mouth to tell them anything, Nico grabbed his hand and pulled him away, leaving Leo to do the explaining to the others. But this one was his right now. They stopped at a clearing.

"You're mine", whispered Nico, his voice dripping with excitement, before be blushed furiously. "Uhm, that came out entirely wrong. I'm sorry, of course you're not mine, you're not a thing or a pet to be owned, I mean, you said you're my guardian. You're the Fate, you're my Fate, right?"

"Fate...?", asked Percy, honestly lost, but with a blush of his own on his cheeks.

"Yes!", exclaimed Nico, never having felt so hyper as he did in that moment when he realized that all the good things that had happened in his life could be summed up by this one beautiful creature. "You're the one who let me meet Frank, it wasn't a coincidence that the only two male demigods in that school shared a room, was it? And I'm sure you protected Bianca and me during the quest."

"I...That's supposed to be my secret", whispered Percy timidly. "I'm not allowed to meddle, but when I first held your life-thread and I... just wanted you to be happy. I saw that you and Frank were bound to meet in the future, I just... made it happen earlier. H—How do you know about me?"

Nico laughed, a full-blown happy laugh that would probably scare half his cabin because it wasn't the most common sound to come from the son of Hades. In all of his excitement, he bend down and picked Percy up, lifting him off the ground, holding him by the thighs and whirling him around.

"Your eyes. I saw those eyes before, in the underworld. How could anyone forget those eyes? They're so... brilliant and beautiful... and their color, like the sea of Venice", whispered Nico in total awe, reluctantly letting go with one hand to cup Percy's cheek. "Mio bel angelo custode." [trans: _My beautiful guardian angel_]

Percy's arms were around Nico's neck, their eyes locked. But the moment was ended all too soon.

"Di Angelo! Stop flirting with the new kid and get showered before dinner!", interrupted Chris.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Main reason why Percy won against Clarisse were that a) she had already been through a rough fight against Ethan right before and b) Zerberus looming over her kinda distracted her a bit. He's well-trained by the gods, but his swordsmanship is still not en par with that of a longer-trained daughter of war. Still, one victory will cause some... tension between them.<br>_

_Next chapter will have Leo and Percy settling in camp; dinner and bonfire and spending the night in their new cabins, before they leave for their quest in the morning!_

_Also, thank you for 500 reviews that early on. ôÔ So, as a little thank you, I got you an additional scene of Percy's childhood - MissEmotion asked me how Hades and Persephone handled explaining sex to Percy and I had the sudden urge to write it out! So, enjoy the awkwardness! ;)_

* * *

><p>"Honey, you want to make Percy your son's consort. I think we should explain certain things to the boy."<p>

"What things?", asked Hades completely confused.

"Sex", stated Persephone with a deadpan. "I figure it's time. I'll give him the talk about the birds and the bees."

Hades stared after his wife thoughtful for a moment. "...You're actually going to talk about birds and bees, are you?"

"Why, of course!", huffed the Spring Goddess, throwing a challenging glare at her husband. "Or would you do things different?"

Hades straightened, glaring as he did not appreciate being challenged in his own palace. Huffing to himself, he made his way over to Percy's room. The boy was innocently laying on the ground, drawing a picture.

"Perseus, we need to talk", stated Hades seriously.

"Okay", nodded Percy, only innocent eleven years old. "What is it, papà?"

"You see, boy. When two people like each other very, very, very much-"

"Like you and mamma?", interrupted Percy large-eyed, growing giddy.

"Yes, like me and mamma", nodded Hades pleased. "When they love each other very much, they have special adult-cuddles, my boy. But not only boys and girls can have adult-cuddles. Two boys can too."

"How do adult-cuddles work?", frowned Percy confused, tilting his head.

"First of all, you ONLY have adult-cuddles with the person you love very, very, very much, the one you'll marry and stay together forever, like in those fairy tales you're so fond of", stated Hades firmly.

"If other boys want to have adult-cuddles with you, you kick them very hard between the legs, bambino."

"Okay", nodded Percy obediently, knowing his papà was always right.

"Adult-cuddles are special because you don't just embrace each other, you... put a piece of yourself into the other", continued Hades awkwardly.

"Heh?", huffed Percy, scrunching his nose up in confusion.

"Your... pee-pee can get very hard if you find that one special person that you like so much that you want to have adult-cuddles with them", tried Hades to explain, growing more uncomfortable with the second. "And so will the pee-pee of the boy you like. Now, if he really loves you, he will put his pee-pee inside your... well, your butt-hole."

"But isn't that for poop to go out?", asked Percy, completely lost and confused.

"Yes. And for the pee-pee of your future husband to go in", nodded Hades gravely. "But ONLY his. Because that's something very special."

"That sounds weird and like it'll hurt", pointed Percy out and tilted his head.

"Yes, well, but not too much and if it's the right boy, it will feel good. But it can only feel good if it's with your true love", stated Hades very seriously.

"Just like kissing?", asked Percy interested.

They already had the conversation about kissing a few years ago, when Hades had explained that Percy should only kiss his one, true love, because otherwise it wouldn't work. What could he say? He was a desperate god who was well-aware of his boy's good looks and did not want any inappropriate approaches from other campers. Percy needed to learn that those things only belonged to his true love, who was supposed to be Nico. No kissing some horny kids of Hermes or gods forbid losing his virginity to a flirtageous kid of Aphrodite. So far, Percy was buying the whole fairy-tale-deal. There was only one true love and only he should get those special things from Percy.

"Just like kissing, Perseus", nodded Hades, ruffling Percy's hair in a praising manner. "So, if... things with your body start to change and your pee-pee becomes hard, you do not need to freak out. It simply means your body wants you to go and look for your true love."

"Can you tell me the fairy tale of the Ghost King again?", asked Percy eagerly.

It was Percy's favorite bedtime story. The ghosts-controling Italian who would save the world and sweep the prince of the ocean off his feet. Perhaps Hades was overstepping some by putting a picture of how Percy's Prince charming had to look into the boy's head already, but he NEEDED this relationship to work. Not because of any deal, but because Percy was his and needed to stay his and that could only be assured if Percy became his son's consort and would as Hades' son-in-law be under Hades' protection.

Smiling at the kid, Hades sat down and pulled the boy onto his lap before starting to tell him the story once again.


End file.
